The Need for Restoration I
1. US-EPA Atlas of America’s Polluted Waters
2. Restoration definitions
3. National River Restoration Science Synthesis
1. 2000 EPA Survey of U.S. Streams
US-EPA National Water Quality Inventory:
Report to Congress 2002 Reporting Cycle
“Good” Water quality will support designated uses
“Good but threatened” Shows a declining trend in water quality and will be
impaired in the future
“Polluted” Water body does not support one or more designated uses
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 840-B-00-002)
May 2000
Atlas of America’s Polluted Waters
Leading Causes of Water Quality
Impairment (EPA)
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Pathogens
% of cases reported
as of 2010
Mercury
Metals (other than Mercury)
Nutrients
Organic Enrichment/Oxygen Depletion
Sediment
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
pH/Acidity/Caustic Conditions
Cause Unknown - Impaired Biota
Temperature
Turbidity
Pesticides
Salinity/Total Dissolved Solids/Chlorides/Sulfates
Unknown
14%
12
10
9
8
8
8
5
4
4
4
2
2
2
Leading
Causes of
Water
Quality
Impairment
(EPA),
2002
US-EPA National Water Quality Inventory:
Report to Congress 2002 Reporting Cycle
Leading Causes of Water Quality
Impairment (EPA)
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•
•
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Pathogens
% of river miles affected
Sediment
as of 2010
Nutrients
Organic Enrichment/Oxygen Depletion
Habitat Alterations
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
Metals (other than Mercury)
Flow Alteration(s)
Mercury
Temperature
Cause Unknown
Salinity/Total Dissolved Solids/Chlorides/Sulfates
Cause Unknown - Impaired Biota
pH/Acidity/Caustic Conditions
15%
11
11
9
9
8
7
6
5
5
5
3
3
3
Leading
Sources of
Water
Quality
Impairment
(EPA),
2002
WQ Impairment
Sediment
Pathogens
Habitat Alteration
Metals
Nutrients
US-EPA National Water Quality Inventory:
Report to Congress 2002 Reporting Cycle
Leading Sources of Water Quality
Impairment (EPA)
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% of river miles affected
as of 2010
Agriculture
Unknown
Atmospheric Deposition
Hydromodification
Natural/Wildlife
Unspecified Nonpoint Source
Municipal Dishcarges/Sewage
Habitat Alterations (Not Hydromod.)
Urban-Related Runoff/Stormwater
Resource Extraction
Silviculture (Forestry)
17%
13
11
10
9
7
6
6
5
4
3
WQ Impairment
Sediment
Pathogens
Habitat Alteration
Metals
Nutrients
Biological Condition
of Wadeable Streams
(EPA), 2002
US-EPA National Water Quality Inventory:
Report to Congress 2002 Reporting Cycle
Implications of the EPA Survey to
Stream Restoration
• Many impaired streams already identified, as
well as the cause for and source of the
impairment
• Data may not be reliable
• Mobilized state agencies
Restoration Definitions
• Total maximum daily load—the maximum
amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can
receive and still meet water quality standards,
and an allocation of that amount to the
pollutant's sources
Terms for “Restoration”
Term
Enhancement
Mitigation
Reclamation
Description
 activities conducted in existing wetlands or other
aquatic resources which lead to an increase in one or
more aquatic functions
 manipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological
characteristics of a wetland (disturbed or degraded) site
to heighten, intensify, or improve specific function(s)
or for a purpose such as water quality improvement,
flood water retention, wildlife habitat, etc.
 restoring, replacing, or creating ecological habitats in
one area to compensate for loss of natural habitats in
another area due to development
 avoiding, minimizing, or reducing ecosystem losses
 measures taken to reduce adverse impacts on the
environment
Alters an area to bring it to a healthy state unlike the
original ecosystem
Source
US Army Corps of
Eng., US EPA
National Parks
Services (NPS), US
EPA
National Parks
Service
(compiled by Colleen Bronner)
Term
Rehabilitation
Remediation
Description
 altering a degraded habitat in order to improve
ecological function
 manipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological
characteristics of a site with the goal of repairing
natural/historic functions of degraded wetland
Process of correcting environmental degradation
Restoration
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re-establishment of wetland and/or other aquatic
resource characteristics and function(s) at a site where
they have ceased to exist, or exist in a substantially
degraded state
the goal of a natural resource damage assessment,
which involves rehabilitating, replacing, or aqcquiring
the equivalent of injured natural resources and the
services they provided (includes both primary and
compensatory restoration projects)
altering an area in such a way as to reestablish an
ecosystem’s structure and function, usually bringing it
back to its original (pre-disturbance) state or to a
healthy state close to the original
measures taken to return a site to pre-violation
conditions; the manipulation of the physical, chemical,
or biological characteristics of a site with the goal of
returning natural/historic functions to former or
degraded wetland
Source
US EPA
National Parks
Service
US Army Corps of
Engineers, NOAA,
National Parks
Services, US EPA
(compiled by Colleen Bronner)
Implications of Definitions to
Stream Restoration
• A wide range of vocabulary currently is being
used
• The correct vocabulary is critical for the
effective establishment of restoration goals
and measurements of success
3. National River Restoration
Science Synthesis (NRRSS)
• 2001 working group to evaluate river
restoration in the U.S.
• Summarize restoration activities
– 37,000 records on river restoration projects from
~800 data sources
– Efforts growing exponentially in the U.S., spending
more than $1B/yr
(Bernhardt et al., 2007)
Primary Goals of Restoration
Why
– Water quality
management (26%)
– In-stream habitat
improvement (18%)
Where
– Agriculture (46%)
– Undeveloped watersheds,
wildlands, and protected
areas (38%)
– Urban or suburban
watersheds (29%)
– Privately owned (53%)
(Bernhardt et al., 2007)
Riparian Management Activities
(Palmer et al., 2007)
Water Quality Management Activities
(Palmer et al., 2007)
Restoration Project Density, U.S.
No. of projects per 1,000 river km (Bernhardt et al. 2005)
Distribution of Activities
(Palmer et al., 2010)
Median Costs for Goal Categories
NRRSS
goal category
Median
cost
Examples of
common restoration activities
Aesthetics/recreation/education (A/R/E)
$63,000
Cleaning (e.g., trash removal)
Bank stabilization (BS)
Channel reconfiguration (CR)
Dam removal/retrofit (DR/R)
Fish passage (FP)
Floodplain reconnection (FR)
Flow modification (FM)
Instream habitat improvement (IHI)
$42,000
$120,000
$98,000
$30,000
$207,000
$198,000
$20,000
Revegetation, bank grading
Bank or channel reshaping
Revegetation
Fish ladders installed
Bank or channel reshaping
Flow regime enhancement
Boulders/woody debris added
Instream species management (ISM)
Land acquisition (LA)
Riparian management (RM)
Stormwater management (SM)
Water quality management (WQM)
$77,000
$812,000
$15,000
$180,000
$19,000
Native species reintroduction
Livestock exclusion
Wetland construction
Riparian buffer creation/maintenance
(Bernhardt et al., 2007)
Cumulative Project Cost and
Frequency
NRRSS goal category
Aesthetics/recreation/education
(A/R/E)
Bank stabilization (BS)
Channel reconfiguration (CR)
Dam removal/retrofit (DR/R)
Fish passage (FP)
Floodplain reconnection (FR)
Flow modification (FM)
Instream habitat improvement (IHI)
Instream species management
(ISM)
Land acquisition (LA)
Riparian management (RM)
Stormwater management (SM)
Water quality management (WQM)
(Bernhardt et al., 2007)
Temporal Variation in Projects and
Publications
(Bernhardt et al., 2007)
Five Ecosystem Amenities that
Motivate Restoration Projects
• Clean Water—water/sediment chemistry, pathogen
density
• Uncontaminated food—body loads of contaminants
• Aesthetic appeal—water clarity, bank stability,
channel shape, vegetation
• Rare or valued biota—chemistry, habitat, flow,
production dynamics
• Productive fishery—ditto
(Wohl et al., WRR, 2005)
Implications of NRRSS to Stream
Restoration
• Established the primary database on SR
activities in the U.S.
– Actions
– Costs
– Attributes
• Much more needs to be learned
The Need for Stream Restoration I
Conclusions
• Buoyed/muddied by EPA survey
• Leading causes of WQ impairment:
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% reported: pathogens, mercury, metals
% river miles: pathogens, sediment, nutrients
Sources (% river miles): agriculture, Unknown,
atmospheric deposition, hydromodification