Collin County Soil & Water Conservation District #535 nominates David Cowan for recognition as our Friend of Conservation in the 2024 Conservation Awards Program.
Since filling the role of Watershed Manager at North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) in July 2019, David has upheld a standard of excellence in this position which was instrumental in the development of the Lavon Lake Watershed Protection Plan dating back to 2016. David’s position demands that he engage with a variety of partners and work adaptively to consider the varied needs of producers in the watershed, customers throughout North Central Texas, myriad other stakeholders and the health of the resource itself. He meets these challenges with poise, and he is a truly essential partner for the SWCD. In his commitment to locally-led conservation and the work of Collin County SWCD, David supported the District in their planning efforts for their 2023 Local Work Group Meeting and helped facilitate one of the small group breakout sessions discussing water quality
David has been a reliable sounding board and facilitator for Collin County SWCD in its conservation efforts, including programs to:
- Manage and maintain 99 floodwater retarding structures in the watershed dam program.
- Educate and incentivize agricultural producers through the 319 Water Quality Management Plan program.
These programs are both funded and administered through the Texas State Soil & Water Conservation Board. David has been a presence at the local level to help us articulate our needs and celebrate our achievements, ultimately ensuring these investments go as far as possible. Through David’s introduction to a non-profit partner, the SWCD was given consideration for private funding opportunities which will help complement our existing programs and make them even more effective.
With the rapid urban growth and development occurring in Collin County, the Lavon Lake Watershed Protection Plan identified the need to provide communities with resources to help facilitate low impact development (LID). David is currently working with local municipalities to install rain gardens, engineered bioretention areas and rainwater harvesting systems through an additional 319 grant received from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. LID best management practices will be installed at the NTMWD headquarters in Wylie and at two locations in McKinney in partnership with the City of McKinney. These BMPs will also include the use of native and adapted plants.
In conjunction with the LID BMPs being installed, David is also working to develop and plan a series of workshops and tours of green infrastructure practices to educate the public, municipal officials and employees, landowners and developers about stormwater control options.