This watershed business will ultimately restrict property rights. Many small woodlot owners are cutting trees before the government restricts what we can do - for the greater good.
This is already in the works because the wording about persuading property owners to do "the right thing," has restrictions on use and punishments (fines).
Anybody along a river had better watch out!
YOu certainly have foresight. It usually starts as voluntary, then maybe tax break, then to get a subsidy, then regulation.
The kicker here is responsibility. Will one land owner next to a river make a difference. Sure, but un-measureable. Would all of them. You bet. Appropriate restoration of wetlands could help clean up rivers and lakes more than any regs on industry. But property rights must be respected.
The problem isn't what, it's how. I pay to have a water treatment plant treat my waste. A land owner next to a river shouldn't be expected to give up his wealth to treat anything more than his own waste, and what hits the river at his property line is more than likely much more than his own waste. It is everything "upstream."
If landowners are going to be forced to commit their property to waste treatment - they should be paid.