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Maintaining and Restoring Aquatic Habitats
to Benefit Water Quality
Michael D. Marcus1 and Clayton S. Creage.-2
I
ABSTRACT - The objective of the Clean Water Act "is to restore and
maintain. the chemical, phYSical, and biological integrity of the Nation's
waters." Historically, water quality improvements under CWA have minimally
emphasized needs regarding the physical integrity of waterbodies. Yet,
water qualities in many previously degraded waterbodies have improved to
where ~egraded habitat factors now primarily limit their successful
restoratlon. EPA's emerging Watershed Protection Approach NVPA) and its
total daily maximum load (TMDL) framework provide increasing recognition
of phYSical habitat restoration as important for achieving this CWA objective.
Habitat restoration in many waters can produce large improvements in the
integrity of sustainable aquatic resources beyond those gained by improving
water quality alone. Habitat improvements also can enhance the abilities of
many waterbodies to process contaminants, making habitat restoration and
preservation cost-effective supplements to traditional point and nonpoint
source controls. This refined interpretation of CWA requires best
management practices (BMPs) addressing waterbody integrity, including
links to terrestrial systems, and better coordination with other resource
management agencies. We will review our recent work with EPA advocating
the importance of maintaining and restoring habitat in achieving the goals
of CWA. We will also describe strategies for restoring and maintaining
riparian and instream habitat qualities to benefit water qualities and
sustainable ecological resources in streams and rivers.
WATERSHED PROTECTION APPROACH
(WPA)
THREE KEY ELEMENTS OF WPA
1.
WPA describes comprehensive efforts by U.S. EPA and other
Federal, State, and local agencies to use a watershed-oriented
approach to meet water quality goals necessaty to address all
threats to human health and ecological integrety within specific
watersheds.
2.
3.
1
The Cadmus Group, Inc., Flagstaff, Arizona.
2 The Cadmus Group, Inc., Petaluma, California.
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RISK-BASED GEOGRAPHIC TARGETING - All
significant watershed problems are identified.
Watersheds at risk are ranked and one or more
selected for cooperative integrated assessment and
protection.
STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT - Working as a
task force, stakeholders reach consensus on goals
and approaches for addressing the watershed's
problems, specific action taken, and how actions
will be coordinated and evaluated.
INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS - The selected tools
are applied to the watershed's problems, as
established by the stakeholders. Progress is
evaluated periodically using ecological indicators
and other measures.
Public
Outreach
Feedback!
Performance
Monitoring
Goal
Setting
Targeting
Figure 1. -
Selected Components of a Watershed Protection Approach
POTENTIAL STAKEI1.0LDERS IN WPA
PROJECTS
• Permit issuance and enforcement pro grams
• Standard setting and enforcement programs
(nonpermitting)
• Direct financing
• Economic incentives
• Education and information dissemination
• Technical assistance
• Remediation of contaminated soil or water
• Emergency response to accidental leaks or spills
• State environmental, public health, agricultural, and
natural resource agencies
• Local and regional boards, commissions, and
agencies
• EPA water and other programs
• Other Federal agencies (e.g., FS, SCS, FWS, BLM,
BIA)
• Indian tribes
• Public representatives
• Non-governmental wildlife and conservation
organizations
• Industrial, agricultural, and other water user
representatives
• Academic representatives
TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD (TMDL)
PROCESS
Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act established the TMDL
process for determining the allowable loadings or other
quantifiable parameters for watetbodies and provided the basis
for States to establish water quality-based controls.
POTENTIAL HEALTH OR ECOLOGICAL
RISKS IN WATERSHEDS
• Industrial wastewater discharges
• Municipal wastewater, stormwater, and combined
sewer overflows
• Waste dumping and injection
• Nonpoint source runoff or seepage
• Accidental leaks and spills of toxic substances
• Atmospheric deposition
• Habitat alteration, including wetland loss
• Stream flow alteration
TMDL
LC
=LC =WLA + LA + MOS
= LOADING CAPACITYthe greatest amount of
loading the water can receive without violating
water quality standards (also sometimes called
"assimilative capacity")
WLA = WASTE LOAD ALLOCATIONproportion of
LC allocated to existing or future point pollution
sources
LA = LOAD ALLOCATIONproportion of LC allocated
to existing or future nonpoint pollution and/or
natural sources
MOS = MARGIN OF SAFETYa required estimate for
the uncertainty between pollutant loads (WLA +
LA) and receiving water quality
EXAMPLE OF COORDINATED
WATERSHED ACTIONS
• Voluntary source reduction programs (e.g., BMPs,
waste minimization)
323
EXAMPLE WPA GOALS
Protect and expand of physical habitat (e.g., forest cover,
wetland) throughout the watershed and create contiguous
habitat corridors along the margins of streams and rivers.
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Ensure that natural resource mangement programs are
consistent and supportive of local economic development
programs.
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Increase public awareness of its key role in the watershed
planning and efforts to cleanup the river; increase volunteer
participation in watershed restoration activities.
EXAMPLE WPA GOALS
Dramatically reduce pollutant loads delivered to the
receiving waters to improve water quality conditions by the
tu rn of the centu ry.
Protect and restore the ecological integrity of streams to
enhance aquatic diversity, provide for a quality fishery, and
other recreational opportunities.
Restore biological integrity to historical conditions, including
aquatic species, terrestrial fauna, and vegetative
communities.
324
EMERGING EPA ROLE IN ECOLOGICAL
RESTORA TION
SELECTED EXAMPLES OF PAST AND
ONGOING PROJECTS
• Establish the significance of the relationships
between ecological restoration and water quality
within the overall TMDL process
• Demonstrate the utility of ecological restoration to
encourage wider use of ecological restoration
techniques and principles to improve water quality
• Develop tools and methods to integrate ecological
restoration into the TMDL development process
• Foster the continued development of a network of
ecologists and other scientists within and outside
EPA to continue to intetject ecological values into
ongoing water quality management programs
• Investigate the use of biological criteria and
indicators, Rapid Bioassessment Protocols, etc., as
practical ways to incorporate general ecological
concerns into the TMDL process and water .
programs
• WHOLE BASIN APPROACH TO WATER QUALITY
MANAGEMENT FOR NOR1H CAROLINA,
WASHING1ON, DELAWARE, lEXAS - led or is
leading to statewide frameworks for pennitting, monitoring,
modeling, NPS assessments, and planning.
• WATER QUALITY REGULATIONS AND
APPROACHES 10 SUPPORT ECOLOGICAL
PRESERVATION AND RES1ORATION - a literature
review and synthesis on program approaches, restoration
techniques, and methods identifying eligible systems.
• IMPROVEMENT STUDIES FOR SEG1v1ENT 15 OF 1HE
PLATlE RIVER - assessment of use limitations
due to past NH3 and chlorine impacts and ongoing habitat
and DO impacts.
• ASSIMILATIVE CAPACITY ASSESS1v1ENT FOR THE
SANTA MARGARITA RIVER - evaluation of point and
oonpoint impacts on nutrient and aquatic community
dynamics in this southern California river-estualy system.
soum
RELATIVE BENEFITS OF TYPICAL STREAM HABITAT RESTORATION PRACTICES ON
SELECTED WATER QUALITY CONDITIONS
Minimum
DO
Temperature
Build Drop Structures
t
o
Increase Channel Depth,
Narrow Stream Width,
Increase Undercut Banks
t
Plant Riparian Vegetation
t
Restoration Practice
Build Settling Ponds on
Tributaries
Suspended
Solids
Toxic
Metals
o
o
o
o
o
o
Augment Wetlands
pH
t
325