Social Indicators

Social Indicators describe a wide variety of societal or programmatic factors that influence watershed management approaches, planning and priority-setting. Example characteristics measured by Social Indicators include community demographics, the presence of valued recreational resources in a subwatershed or the presence of drinking water sources that can help motivate stakeholder involvement.

The RPS Tool combines the Social Indicators selected by the user for a screening into a Social Index score for each screened subwatershed. As illustrated below, subwatersheds with higher values of Social Indicators will receive higher Social Index scores.

Social Indicator Subcategories

The RPS Tool and Indicator Database contain Social Indicators in the subcategories listed below.

• Community Context
• Drinking Water Protection
• Jurisdictional/Landowner Complexity
• Participation in Conservation Programs
• Protected Lands & Waters
• Water Quality Assessments & TMDLs