The Quest for Clean Water

Ecosystem restoration efforts are helping to create healthier watersheds, balancing the needs of both man and nature in the process.

In the 33 years following passage of the Clean Water Act, Americans have been on a quest: to maintain and preserve our water resources. Recently, the approach to water resource protection has been expanded to embrace ecosystem restoration programs. These programs—focused on improving ecological function by “getting the water right”—ensure that water is delivered in the right quantities, with the right quality,and at the right time to support all of its naturally intended purposes.

What Restoration Looks Like

The term ecosystem restoration conjures up images of nature returned to a pristine state, untroubled by the footprints of humanity. “We could achieve a lot of desired water-quality improvements by returning an impacted ecosystem to its original natural state,” says PBS&J Environmental Sciences Division Manager Doug Robison, PWS. “However, we know that’s usually not possible because most natural ecosystems have been significantly altered by man. Our efforts must strike a careful balance between historical ecological function and current public use.”

In general, restoration comes in two forms—physical and regulatory,according to Robison, a 30-year veteran in environmental sciences. Physical restoration addresses the physical characteristics and attributes of an ecosystem. “This can include the obvious, such as rechanneling a river to its natural path, and the subtle, such as the replacement of exotic species with indigenous inhabitants,” he explains. “But it can also look less than ‘natural,’ recreating the function of the original ecosystem,if not replicating its form.”

With physical restoration, the balance between nature and man is often seen in the incorporation of recreational amenities, like observation decks and fishing piers, which bring use of these lands back into the public domain and further justify the expenditure of public funds for restoration.

Regulatory restoration refers to those policy-driven regulatory initiatives that lay the foundation for physical restoration activities. An example is the effort under way in Florida’s Peace River basin, where base flows have been waning for years, and the responsible regulatory and management agencies have attributed that decline to anthropogenic changes in the watershed.

To stabilize and restore the river’s ecosystem hydrology and functionality,the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) began a cumulative impact assessment of the basin. The study evaluates the effects of 60 years of urbanization, mining, agriculture, and climate change on the ecosystem and will provide the technical and regulatory framework for a multi-faceted restoration program to be implemented by SWFWMD and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

According to Robison, who manages PBS&J’s involvement in the Peace River impact assessment, this type of regulatory restoration, based on “good” science, is effective because it mandates how surface waters may be used in a manner such that neither ecological systems nor public uses are negatively impacted.

Positive Outcomes

Once viewed as a commodity primarily for agricultural production,rivers and streams across the west are now being restored and enhanced to meet irrigation, wildlife, and recreational needs. According to Paul Callahan, senior division manager of PBS&J’s Rocky Mountain North Division (formerly Land & Water Consulting), “Individual property owners, along with state and federal agencies, have become increasingly aware of the potential for river and wetland restoration projects. The opportunity for resource restoration has resulted in creative, collaborative efforts between private landowners and agencies.”

Callahan points to the Montana Department of Transportation’s (MDT’s) recent Camp Creek project as an illustration. Located near where the Lewis and Clark expedition traded with Native Americans while passing through Montana’s Sula basin, Camp Creek has meandered through the state’s landscape for years. On the heels of growth, however, Camp Creek had been channelized and was functioning as a roadside ditch.

To mitigate the impacts associated with Highway 93 improvements, MDT worked with local landowners and agencies to restore the creek and more than eight acres of adjacent wetlands. Multiple public and private interests were involved throughout the process.

“One of our functions was to act as a mediator,” Callahan explains. “We found that the landowners had no established working relationships with MDT and the Corps of Engineers,so we provided that link and helped them to address their specific issues. We functioned similarly for the land management agencies and for MDT.”

The delicate coordination paid off in 2002, when construction of the firm’s bioengineered channel design for Camp Creek was completed. The restored creek now functions as a natural ecosystem and supports fisheries and indigenous habitat in the area. Callahan notes, “We were able to help MDT negotiate for wetland mitigation credits from the Corps, the landowners benefited from enhanced property values, and the state and federal agencies are delighted with the improved stream and fisheries.”