USE PA Office of Water - TMDL Program Results Analysis Fact Sheet - Doc. No. EPA841-F-11-002, March 2011
Fact Sheet: Recovery Potential Project
Landscape Screening Tools and Resources for Comparing the Restorability of Impaired Waters
Project Goal: Develop methods and tools that help state TMDL and nonpoint source
programs consider where best to use limited restoration resources among large
numbers of impaired waters and watersheds.
• Compile information on factors relevant to recovery potential from the technical
literature and practitioner experience;
• Apply these findings to develop recovery potential indicators measurable from
commonly available geospatial and monitoring data;
• Develop a rapid, flexible recovery potential screening methodology and tools; and
• Help states compare impaired waters recovery potential during restoration planning
by using watershed geospatial analysis techniques and aquatic monitoring data.
Reco very po ten tial
should be a primary
consideration in
restoration programs
whose main aim is to
bring about recovery
Relevance of Recovery Potential
in Restoration Planning
Ecological capacity „ Stressor exposure _ Social context &
to regain function past, present & future process factors
Effectiveness of BMPs or restoration practices
Impaired Waters Recovery
Recovery Potential is the likelihood of an impaired water to reattain
Water Quality Standards or other desired condition, given its
ecological capacity to regain function, its exposure to stressors, and
the social context affecting efforts to improve its condition.
Funding for restoration is always limited, and difficult choices are inevitable.
Poor decisions and strategies can result in little or no program success.
Comparative methods to aid restoration planning can lead to better-
informed investments that restore valued waters earlier, more consistently,
more cost-effectively, and in more places. Recovery potential screening
enables rapid, statewide comparison of large numbers of waters using
ecological, stressor and social indicators of restorability selected for the place
and purpose at hand. Recovery potential should be a primary consideration
in restoration programs whose aim is to bring about recovery.
Practical Applications of Recovery Potential
• Aid state decisions in 303(d) impaired waters list scheduling for TMDL development, and in TMDL implementation;
• Assist in restoration-related decisions regarding Clean Water Act Section 319 nonpoint source control projects as well as
state-level restoration initiatives;
• Help EPA regions and states develop strategies to meet performance tracking measures, such as identifying where
increases in restored waters and improved watersheds can most likely be achieved;
• Assist watershed-level programs that need to focus on priority places due to limited resources; and
• Reveal underlying factors that influence restoration success and use these new insights to improve programs.
Recovery Potential Tools and Resources for Restoration Practitioners
• Recovery Potential Screening Methodology: A rapid, comparative
assessment approach that uses commonly available datasets to screen
user-selected indicators that influence restorability. Integrates three sub-
indices (ecological, stressor, social) that relate to the three major drivers
affecting recovery potential.
• Recovery Potential Indicators (see examples on back): Ecological capacity,
stressor exposure, and social context traits measurable from common
datasets. 130+ metrics demonstrated, 60+ with reference sheets on their
scientific basis and measurement.
• Restoration and Recovery Literature Database: 1700+ published citations
in a partially annotated MS Access database; open for each user's personal
option to add entries and keywords on a local copy.
• Tools for Scoring and Displaying Results: A programmed data spreadsheet
that weights and normalizes indicators and auto-calculates summary
scores; a tool for visualizing screening results as 3D bubble plots (right);
measurement methods and data sources for indicators; and more.
• Recovery Potential User Support Website: Central source of step-by-step
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Example Recovery Potential Indicators
(user selects 3 to 8 metrics in each class most relevant to the place and purpose of the screening)
Ecological Caoacitv Metrics
natural channel form
recolonization access
Strahler stream order
rare taxa presence
historical species occurrence
species range factor
elevation
corridor % forest
corridor % woody vegetation
corridor slope
bank stability/soils
bank stability/woody vegetation
watershed size
watershed % forest
watershed % wetlands
proximity to green infrastructure hub
contiguity w/green infrastructure corridor
biotic community integrity
flow regime
Stressor Exposure Metrics
invasive species risk
channelization
hydrologic alteration
aquatic barriers
corridor road crossings
corridor road density
corridor % U-index
corridor % agriculture
corridor % urban
corridor % impervious surface
watershed % U index
watershed road density
watershed % agriculture
watershed % tile-drained cropland
watershed % urban
watershed % impervious surface
severity of 303(d) listed causes
severity of loading
past land use change trajectory
Social Context Metrics
watershed % protected land
applicable regulation
funding eligibility
303(d) schedule priority
estimated restoration cost
certainty of causal linkages
TMDL or other plan existence
university proximity
certainty of restoration practices
watershed organizational leadership
watershed collaboration
large watershed management potential
government agency involvement
local socio-economic conditions
landownership complexity
jurisdictional complexity
valued ecological attribute
human health and safety
recreational resource
Example Watershed, State and Regional Scale Projects
Illinois Pilot Study
• screened the recovery potential of 723 impaired waters in a statewide
comparison
• developed, measured and mapped 104 ecological, stressor and social
indicators of recovery potential
• compared several priority-setting methods and alternatives
Town Creek MBSS Recovery
Potential X DNR buffer potential
(3 silos high RP + DNR land + stream)
Example MD recovery potential application
with map, tabular and bubble plot outputs.
Example IL maps for ecological, stressor,
and social metrics and sum of ranks.
Maryland Watershed Screening
staged screening at two watershed scales
informed TMDL impaired waters and nonpoint source program strategies on
relative restorability among watersheds, ecoregionally and statewide
screened finer-scale subwatersheds in 10 priority watersheds to help inform
best management practice implementation options
Middle Atlantic Native Fisheries Recovery Screening
• screening in four states identified possible native fish habitat restorations
of interest to three programs (303(d), abandoned minelands, fisheries)
• demonstrated very rapid statewide recovery screening to address a
narrowly focused issue
• stimulated cross-program collaboration and restoration investments in PA
Screening restorable watersheds of interest
to water, fisheries and mining programs in PA.
Contacts
• Doug Norton, EPA Office of Water, Project Co-Manager
norton.douglas@epa.gov
• Jim Wickham, EPA Office of Research and Development, Project Co-Manager wickham.iames@epa.gov
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