&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Off ice of Water
Office of Wetlands,
Oceans and Watersheds (4502T)
EPA843-F-01-002g
September 2001
'Water has
a voice. It
carries a
message that
tells those
downstream
who you are
and how you
care for
land."
Bernie McGurl,
Lackawanna River
Association
Wetlands Provide Beneficial Services
Wetlands are the vital link between water
and land. They are among the most
biologically productive ecosystems in the world.
Because of their strategic position within the
landscape, wetlands can provide a wide variety
of ecosystem services such as:
Improving water quality by filtering
sediment, nutrients, and pollutants.
Reducing flood damage.
Preventing bank and shoreline erosion.
Recharging ground and surface water
supplies.
Providing vital fish and wildlife habitat.
Offering opportunities for recreation,
education, and research.
Producing food, forest, and fuel products.
Wetlands are among the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the world.
Why Should We Monitor Wetlands?
Assessing wetland health through monitoring is
vital to their protection. Because wetland
resources support healthy environments,
communities, and economies, effective
watershed management should include
conservation and restoration of wetlands and
their functions. Knowledge gained from wetland
monitoring allows water resource managers to:
More effectively protect wetland and
aquatic resources.
Select and prioritize wetlands and
watersheds for restoration.
Better manage watershed impacts.
Determine whether proposed projects will
create water quality problems.
Evaluate the effects of the placement of fill
on a watershed.
Aid in evaluating mitigation projects.
Help assess methods to limit pollution
sources to waterways.
Encourage wiser watershed planning.
Better understand how wetlands contribute
to the functioning of the watershed as a
whole.
Because of their strategic
position in the landscape,
wetlands help attenuate
flooding.
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Polls around the
country
consistently
demonstrate that
the American
public values
water quality.
For example, in a
1999 survey
conducted by the
City of Lenexa,
Kansas, 1,169
citizens and 418
businesses listed
the following top
three concerns for
city improvements
(in order):
(1) protect water
quality, (2) limit
damage to
structures, and
(3) minimize
street flooding.
Monitoring wetlands helps to ensure
quality habitat for wildlife like this
little blue heron that depend on
wetlands to survive.
Can Your Program Benefit From
Wetland Monitoring?
The purpose of the Clean Water Act (CWA)
is to "restore and maintain the chemical,
physical, and biological integrity of the
Nation's waters." We are all concerned about
protecting the quality and quantity of water for
ourselves and future generations. Wetland
monitoring, as prescribed under CWA Section
305(b), can aid us in attaining that goal.
Many water programs can benefit from wetland
monitoring. States and tribes can monitor
wetland health to develop ecologically based
programs. This provides the programmatic
foundation for refining existing wetland water
quality standards (CWA Section 303),
monitoring and reporting the condition of
wetlands (CWA Section 305 (b)), influencing
permit decisions (CWA Sections 401 and 404),
identifying impaired waters (CWA Section
303(d)), obtaining additional resources for
monitoring wetlands (CWA Section 106), and
evaluating the performance of nonpoint control
measures (CWA Section 319). Other state and
federal programs, such as stormwater (CWA
Section 402) and source water protection (Safe
Drinking Water Act (SDWA)), may also benefit
from integrating wetland monitoring.
Examples Of How Wetland
Monitoring Supports Water-related
Programs
Water Quality Standards: CWA Section 303
Few states or tribes have specifically incorporated
wetlands into their water quality standards.
Wetlands are often assigned the designated uses
and criteria of adjacent rivers or
lakes, which may be ecologically
inappropriate for wetlands. Water
quality standards include basic
components of designated uses,
narrative and numeric criteria, and
an antidegradation policy. When
specifically tailored to wetlands,
they provide a consistent basis for
the development of policies and
technical procedures for managing
activities that impact wetlands.
Wetland-specific designated uses
and criteria provide greater
protection for a state's or tribe's
wetlands by specifying the condition
of the resource being protected.
Bioassessments provide data on the
aquatic life support uses of a
particular wetland or wetland type
and will provide data upon which to
derive biological criteria. A state or tribe can
protect wetlands from activities that fall outside
the jurisdiction of the federal 404 permit program
by specifically identifying the impacting activity in
its antidegradation policy.
Tracking and reporting conditions:
CWA Section 305(b)
Under CWA Section 305 (b), states and tribes
are required to report on the quality of their
waters, including wetlands. Through ambient
water quality monitoring, states determine if a
waterbody satisfies the criteria associated with
each of its designated uses. Waterbodies that
satisfy the criteria are deemed to attain water
quality standards, while those that do not
satisfy the criteria are deemed impaired. The
reporting requirement, a legal mandate, also
has the practical aspect of offering individuals
and public officials an opportunity to better
understand the implications of their activities
on the condition of their resources.
Funding for wetland monitoring:
CWA Section 106 and Section 104(b)3
CWA Section 106 provides funds to states and
tribes to monitor waters, including wetlands.
Monitoring wetlands using bioassessments is
critical to adequately protecting these resources
and, through the identification of impaired
wetlands, can also increase the amount of funds
available for monitoring state waters.
The Wetland Program Development Grants
described in Section 104(b)3 provides states,
tribes, and local governments (S/T/LGs) an
opportunity to develop projects which build and
refine comprehensive wetland programs. Since
1995 Congress has appropriated $15 million
annually to support the grant program. EPA
encourages S/T/LGs to build effective
comprehensive wetland programs in six areas,
which includes monitoring and assessment (Core
Elements of a Comprehensive Wetland Program
available on the web at www.epa.gov/owow/
wetlands/initiative/fv 0 2 elements. html.
Identifying impaired waters and TMDL
implementation plans: CWA Section 303(d)
CWA Section 303 (d) requires states and tribes
to identify impaired waters and develop total
maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for those
waters. Wetland monitoring can provide
information on whether wetlands need to be
added to or removed from the list of impaired
waters. In addition, wetland monitoring can
support the development of TMDL implemen-
tation plans, which should always include
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hydro logically connected wetlands. Restoring
and maintaining the health of wetlands can
improve the recovery of impaired waters.
Influencing federal permits and licenses:
CWA Section 401
CWA Section 401 water quality certification
gives states and tribes broad authority to certify,
condition, or deny any federal permit or license
that would violate their water quality
standards. Affected permits and licenses
include: dam relicensing, CWA Section 404
dredge and fill permits, and CWA Section 402
point source discharge permits in non-
delegated states. A state's water quality
certification program, however, is only as
strong as the water quality standards upon
which they are based.
Evaluating effectiveness ofnonpoint source
controls, restoration, andBMPs: CWA
Section 319
Many federal, state, and local programs
attempt to restore wetlands and use BMPs to
reduce the amount and impact of nonpoint
source pollution. However, few programs
evaluate how well the activities actually
improve the overall ecological condition of
wetlands. Monitoring can benefit wetland
programs by evaluating the effectiveness of
restoration and best management practices,
such as buffer strips, designed to improve the
condition of wetlands. In addition, CWA
Section 319 requires states to monitor the
effectiveness of these methods used to reduce
the amount and impact of nonpoint source
pollution. Wetland monitoring can improve the
investment of limited conservation resources.
Identifying priority watersheds and
demonstra ting recovery of wa tersheds
At a watershed scale, monitoring can be used to
demonstrate the value of wetlands at protecting
or improving the condition of other waterbodies
in a landscape and document the effectiveness
of watershed recovery plans (e.g., TMDL
implementation plans, Watershed Restoration
Action Strategies, Comprehensive Conservation
and Management Plans). Many surface streams
and lakes are listed as impaired due to nutrient
loading, sedimentation, and hydrologic
modification. Scientific literature demonstrates
wetlands' ability to decrease nutrient loading
and sedimentation. An assessment of the
condition of naturally occurring and restored
wetlands is integral to deciding whether in-stream
and lake resources are on a path toward recovery.
Wetland Tidbits
Recent research suggests that by restoring
wetlands to 1 percent of the watershed,
nitrate and herbicide runoff can be
reduced by up to 50 percent (Robinson,
1995).
"Apart from a wetland's own quality,
because wetlands are good at filtering
nonpoint source pollution, further loss of
wetlands in impaired watersheds could
increase total daily maximum loads
(TMDLs) over time. Similarly, ongoing
wetland destruction could push
unimpaired watersheds over the line into
TMDL territory" (McCallie, 2000).
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and other researchers, a single
acre of wetland can store 1-1.5 million
gallons of floodwater. The capacity for
floodwater retention varies among
wetland types, but prairie pothole
wetlands have been shown to store the
most. Regardless of wetland type, a
network of small wetlands can store an
enormous amount of water.
References
McCallie, Grady. 2000. Wetland Water Quality
StandardsAn Unfinished Foundation for TMDLs.
National Wetlands Newsletter. Environmental Law
Institute. Vol. 22. No. 3. Page 9.
Robinson, Ann. 1995. Small and seasonal does not
mean insignificant: Why it's worth standing up for tiny
and temporary wetlands. Journal of Soil and Water
Conservation. November-December 1995, Pages 586-590.
Assessing the health
of wetlands can help
determine if they
should be removed
from a state's
303(d) list.
Wetlands are often assigned the water quality criteria of nearby lakes or
rivers, which are ecologically inappropriate for wetlands.
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When we destroy wetlands,
there can be enormous impacts.
If we preserve the health of
wetlands and restore wetland
ecosystems, it simply follows
that we generate associated
environmental, social,
and economic benefits.
The Wetland Fact Sheet Series
American Avocet
Wetlands Overview
es of Wetlands
Functions & Values of Wetlands
Threats to Wetlands
Wetland Restoration
Fundina Wetland Projects
Wetland Monitorina & Assessment
Sustainable Communities
Volunteerina for Wetlands
Teachina about Wetlands
EPA Regional
Region 1 - CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT
Matt Schweisberg
(617)918-7628 schweisberg.matt@epa.gov
Region 2 - NJ, NY, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands
Mary Ann Thiesing
(212)637-3818 thiesing.mary@epa.gov
Region 3 - DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV
Regina Poeske
(215)814-2783 poeske.regina@epa.gov
Region 4 - AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN
Bill Ainslie
(404)562-9400 ainslie.William@epa.gov
Region 5 - IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI
Sue Elston
(312)886-6115 elston.sue@epa.gov
Region 6 - AR, LA, NM, OK, TX
Norm Sears
(214)665-8336 sears.norman@epa.gov
Region 7 - IA, KS, MO, NE
Kathy Mulder
(913)551-7542 mulder.kathy@epa.gov
Region 8 - CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY
Glenn Rodriguez
(303)312-6832 rodriguez.glenn@epa.gov
Region 9 - AZ, CA, HI, NV, American Samoa, Guam
Paul Jones
(415)744-1976 * iones.paul@epa.gov
Region 10-AK, ID, OR, WA
Ralph Rogers
(206)553-4012 rogers.ralph@epa.gov
Related Fact Sheets
Wetland Monitoring and Assessment: A Technical Framework Fact Sheet. EPA843-F-01-002h
Funding Wetland Projects: Wetland Program Development Grants Fact Sheet. EPA 843-F-01-0021
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