Healthy
Watersheds
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Healthy Watersheds News
Issue 2: Summer 2012 // EPA-841-N-12-002
Spokane Tribe Works to Maintain and Restore
Healthy Watersheds
While much attention is paid to efforts being made to clean up
the nation's impaired waters, less publicity is given to critical
efforts made to protect healthy waters and prevent future
impairments. Many tribes are working in partnership with federal
and state agencies to protect and restore their healthy watersheds,
with particular focus on protecting important fish and wildlife
habitat.
The Spokane Indian Reservation sits approximately 50 miles
northwest of Spokane, Washington and covers 157,376 acres. The
tribal lands contain healthy aquatic ecosystems and high quality
land. Recognizing this, the tribe has prioritized protecting aquatic
ecosystems and providing healthy habitat on its lands.
Flow Restoration
In the early 1900s, McCoy Creek was diverted from its original
path to be used to irrigate farmland, causing water levels in
McCoy Lake to drop. The Spokane tribe has worked with the
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and the Natural Resources Conservation
Service to restore McCoy Lake to its natural depth. The tribe
purchased land and water rights to route the creek back to its
original channel, nearly doubling the flow of water into McCoy
Lake. In order to restore and enhance the stream's riparian habitat,
the tribe built livestock exclusion fences and planted thousands of
native trees and shrubs along the stream corridor. As a result of the
restoration efforts, a healthy mountain snow pack, and abundant
spring rainfall, the lake rose nine feet within two years of the
creek's restoration.
Land Acquisition for Protection
The tribe has worked with the Bonneville Power Administration
(BPA) and the Northwest Power & Conservation Council on
land acquisition projects designed to protect and rebuild fish and
wildlife populations affected by federal hydropower development
in the Columbia River Basin. Land parcels are prioritized for
acquisition based on their riparian and wildlife value and their
contribution to contiguous acreage. The tribe recenty completed a
3,926-acre acquisition that will protect wildlife habitat, including
important salmon habitat. "This collaborative project fits perfectly
with BPA's commitment to restore or protect critical habitat that
helps preserve the Pacific Northwest as the special place that it
McCoy Lake. Photo credit: Brian Crossley
is," said Greg Delwiche, Vice President of Environment, Fish and
Wildlife at BPA. "So far, BPA has protected more than 300,000
acres across the Northwest through the agency's mitigation
efforts."
Successful protection efforts such as these land acquisitions
demonstrate how important tribal partnerships are for protecting
and restoring healthy watersheds.
EPA Releases Healthy Watersheds Technical
Document
In February 2012, EPA released
the new technical document
Identifying and Protecting Healthy
Watersheds: Concepts, Assessments,
which gives state scientists
and managers an overview of
the key concepts behind the
Healthy Watersheds Initiative.
It includes descriptions of
integrated assessment approaches
to identifying healthy watersheds,
assessments of healthy watershed
components, management options, and assessment tools and
datasets. The document serves as a resource for states and others
interested in conducting healthy watersheds assessments and
implementing holistic, healthy watersheds protection programs.
The document is available at www. epa. gov/healthywatersheds.
Summer2012
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States Use 319 Grants to Maintain
Healthy Watersheds
State Nonpoint Source Management Programs rely on Clean
Water Act Section 319 grants to help reach their watershed
improvement goals. Section 319 funds have been crucial for the
development and implementation of nonpoint source pollution
control projects across the U.S. The funds enable states to work
collaboratively with federal, state, local, and private sector groups
to leverage resources and reach common goals. Section 319 grants
are often used to fund restoration projects that address polluted
runoff generated by agricultural and forestry activities. The grants
are also used to protect riparian areas, shorelines, and wetlands.
Use of grants for protection will continue to be supported under
the revised 319 grant guidelines.
A variety of healthy watershed projects can be supported by
Section 319 grant funding. Many states already use their grant
funds to protect high quality waters, to conduct assessments to
identify healthy waters, and to restore waters in watersheds that
are, for the most part, healthy. Examples include:
• In 2007, Virginia used funds to support their statewide
Healthy Waters Strategy Pilot. The project identified healthy
watersheds and ecologically healthy streams, communicated
the location of these healthy areas, and identified threats
from changing land use patterns (see www.dcr.virginia.gov/
healthywaters).
• Between 2008 and 2011, Alaska used funds to assess instream
flow on Holgate Creek to support efforts to protect and
maintain anadromous fish and wildlife habitat.
• In 2002, 2006, and 2009, Kentucky used funds to develop
watershed-based plans for healthy watersheds that drain to
Outstanding Natural Resource Waters or Outstanding State
Resource Waters. The plans call for increased protection from
land use change in healthy areas and identify areas in need of
restoration to maintain the healthy status.
Kentucky's Red River Gorge is listed as a Wild River and an Outstanding
State Resource Water, giving it greater levels of protection against land use
change. Section 319 funds were used to develop a watershed protection plan
for Red River Gorge. Photo Credit: Kentucky Division of Water.
• In 2011, Maryland used funds to increase protection of Tier
II high quality waters in two counties. Funding was also used
to support biomonitoring of at-riskTier II streams in order to
assess remaining assimilative capacity.
• In 2008, Pennsylvania used funds to monitor Exceptional
Value and High Quality waters. The monitoring was
conducted to support complementary efforts preventing future
impairment to these high quality waters.
States Present on Healthy Watersheds
Assessments and Protection Programs at
the 2012 National Water Quality Monitoring
Conference
The National Water Quality Monitoring Council hosted its 8th
National Water Quality Monitoring Conference on April 30 —
May 4, 2012 in Portland, Oregon. A session titled "Identifying
and Protecting Healthy Watersheds" provided an opportunity to
share and discuss innovative assessment techniques that are being
implemented around the country. The following are synopses of
the talks given by each of the session's four speakers.
Karen Larsen, from California's State Water Resources Control
Board, discussed California's newly initiated Healthy Streams
Partnership. Initiated in 2010, the Healthy Streams Partnership
promotes efforts to identify and protect healthy streams. The
partnership supports hypothesis-driven data collection, analysis,
and reporting to provide integrated information for resource
managers at the state and local levels. In collaboration with
EPA's Healthy Watersheds Initiative, the partnership is using
existing data to perform an integrated assessment of watershed
health through careful examination of the six healthy watershed
attributes: biotic condition, landscape condition, natural
disturbance, hydrology, ecological processes, and chemical and
physical condition.
Ian Chisholm, from Minnesota's Department of Natural
Resources, presented the Watershed Assessment Tool (WAT)
developed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
with support from the University of Minnesota (see www.dnr.
state.mn.us/watershed tool/). This web-based tool uses
a systems approach to consider watershed processes and evaluate
watershed health. The presentation demonstrated how results of
the analysis encourage a comprehensive view of watershed health.
Using WAT, health assessments for hydrology, geomorphology,
biology, connectivity and water quality were each completed for
all of Minnesota's eighty one major watersheds.
NeilKamman, from Vermont's Agency of Natural Resources,
discussed the importance of protecting high quality aquatic
ecosystem components and their supporting landscape network
for maintaining healthy watersheds in Vermont. An integrated
assessment of watershed health was performed to identify areas
characterized by high biological, chemical, and physical integrity,
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and areas possessing intact processes. Maps that were created to
display the final results of the healthy watersheds assessment can
be used to identify priority areas for protection (see water.epa.
gov/polwaste/nps/watershed/upload/hwi- watersheds-ch4.pdf).
Neil also discussed ways that Vermont is merging the concepts of
healthy watersheds and recovery potential, a complementary EPA
initiative (see www.epa.gov/recoverypotential).
Christine Conn, from Maryland's Department of Natural
Resources (MDNR), gave an overview of Maryland GreenPrint
(see www.greenprint.maryland.gov). Maryland GreenPrint is
a pioneering web-enabled map showing the relative ecological
importance of every parcel of land in the state. GreenPrint shows
where Targeted Ecological Areas (TEAs) occur and how the
programs within Maryland State government work together to
protect their most ecologically valuable areas. TEAs are the lands
and watersheds ranked as the most ecologically valuable in the
state ("best of the best") and were identified through a modeling
analysis performed by an interdisciplinary team of natural resource
biologists and land conservation managers at MDNR. TEAs
include large blocks of forests and wetlands, wildlife and rare
species habitats, aquatic biodiversity hotspots, forests important
for protecting water quality, high value coastal ecosystems, lands
important for climate change adaptation, and areas supporting
important fisheries. Another key principle underlying Maryland
GreenPrint is the development of land conservation strategies
that are based on transparent, scientifically defensible criteria,
designated geographic targets, clearly defined objectives and
measures of success.
Virginia Study Examines Effects of Flow
Alteration on Aquatic Life
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's Office of
Surface and Ground Water Supply Planning, in collaboration with
EPA's Healthy Watersheds Initiative and other federal, state, non-
governmental organizations, and academic partners, explored the
effects of instream flow alteration on aquatic ecosystems. Findings
from this effort include preliminary data that will contribute to
the development of numeric instream flow criteria protective of
aquatic life for use in evaluating water use permits.
This study used the principles of the Ecological Limits of
Hydrologic Alteration (ELOHA) framework, a well-established
holistic approach to defining environmental flow needs (see
conserveonline.org/workspaces/eloha/). Environmental flows
describe the hydrological components (e.g., flow magnitude,
frequency, duration, timing, and rate of change) required to
sustain freshwater and estuarine ecosystems, as well as human
livelihood and well-being. Understanding how flow alteration
affects aquatic life and water availability may assist Virginia in
adequately meeting both social and environmental flow needs.
Environmental flow relationships were developed by examining
current and baseline (reference) flow components or metrics
and aquatic biological data within the state. Alteration to the
natural flow regime can be caused by effluent discharges, water
withdrawals, dams, urbanization, and agricultural activities.
Determining the ecological consequences of flow alteration
requires associating specific ecological responses to the observed
flow alterations.
Key findings from this preliminary study include: 1) most flow
metrics reflected a 10 - 50% alteration from baseline values to
present day values; 2) various fish and macroinvertebrates were
sensitive to changes in flow that affected their habitat or feeding
area; and 3) distinct flow metric responses were found by stream
type (e.g., perennial and stable base flow) and regionally (coastal
plain/non-coastal plain).
Source: Tetra Tech, Inc., 2012. "Virginia Ecological Limits of
Hydrologic Alteration (ELOHA): Development of Metrics of
Hydrologic Alteration."
Summer 2012 // Page 3
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Chesapeake Bay Program Takes Action to
Protect Healthy Watersheds
The Chesapeake Bay Program's Maintain Healthy Watersheds
Goal Implementation Team (GIT4) was established for two
reasons: (1) to keep watersheds throughout the Chesapeake Bay
Watershed healthy by identifying, promoting, supporting, and
tracking the implementation of sustainable land use practices in
urban and suburban areas; and (2) to maintain reduced nitrogen,
phosphorus, and sediment loadings to the Chesapeake Bay and
the tidal portions of its tributaries by identifying, promoting,
supporting, and tracking the implementation of sound land use
practices.
GIT4 activities in 2012 include:
• In March, GIT4 hosted a Science and Technical Advisory
Committee (STAC) workshop titled "The Beneficial Effects
of Healthy Watersheds on Pollutant Fate and Transport". The
purpose of the workshop was to discuss whether there is a
scientific basis for changing the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Model's nutrient and/or sediment retention and loading
rates for natural landscape features. Retention and loading
rates of forests, streams, and wetlands were considered based
on attributes such as land use, flow path, and hydraulic
connectivity. A STAC workshop report is due to be completed
later this summer.
• In keeping with the principle that "you get what you measure,"
GIT4 is initiating a project to periodically communicate the
identity, health status, health threats, and protection status of
state-identified healthy watersheds. The project is based on
existing data and existing monitoring efforts underway in the
Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
• The GIT4 Communications Workgroup is creating a set
of key messages and actions to support GIT4 objectives
when communicating with key audiences. In addition,
the workgroup is attempting to incorporate a "Maintain
Healthy Watersheds" track into the 2012 Chesapeake
Watershed Forum. The Forum is an annual event hosted by
the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay that serves as a regional
training opportunity for local watershed and conservation
organizations, as well as local governments in the Bay region.
For more information about the Chesapeake Bay Program's
Maintain Healthy Watersheds Goal Implementation Team,
visit: http://www.chesapeakebay.net/groups/group/maintaining
healthy watersheds goal implementation team.
EPA Releases Fact Sheet on the Economic
Benefits of Protecting Healthy Watersheds
Healthy watersheds provide a variety of ecological services,
including clean water for healthy aquatic ecosystems, habitat
for fish and wildlife, high quality drinking water, recreational
opportunities, and reduced impacts from floods. Yet, healthy
watersheds and the services they provide are often taken for
granted. Once compromised, some of these services can be
impossible to recreate.
In a new fact sheet released by the Healthy Watersheds Initiative,
EPA describes the economic benefits of protecting healthy
watersheds. Using examples from peer-reviewed literature and
studies, the fact sheet includes case studies that demonstrate
how protecting healthy watersheds can reduce capital costs for
water treatment plants and reduce damages to property and
infrastructure due to flooding, thereby avoiding future costs.
Additional examples in the fact sheet show how protecting
healthy watersheds can generate revenue through property value
premiums, recreation, and tourism.
The fact sheet is available at www.epa. gov/healthywatersheds.
New water filtration plant I
Watershed Conservation
58-10 billion
Wastewater treatment
Forest buffers
Conventional wastewater
Wetlands construction
$1.5 billion
$3.10/lb N
P
$0.47/1000 gallons
} Capital and operating cost
to filter drinking water in
New York City
(2006 dollars)
I 58.56/lb Nitrogen |
I Chesapeake Bay nitrogen
litrogen reduction
ns
L. Average wastewater
treatment costs
| $3.24/1000 gallon
Hanson, Craig et al. 2011. Forests for water: exploring payments for watershed services
in the US south. World Resources Institute Issue Brief, Issue 2, Ppl5.
Watershed protection is less expensive than building new "grey"
infrastructure. See the Economic Benefits of Protecting
Healthy Watersheds fact sheet for more details.
For More Information
For more information or questions about EPA's Healthy
Watersheds Initiative, visit www.epa.gov/healthywatersheds
or contact Laura Gabanski: Gabanski.Laura(a)epa.gov
Disclaimer
Healthy Watersheds News is produced by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. Mention of commercial
products, publications, or Web sites does not constitute
endorsement or recommendation by EPA, and shall not be used
for advertising or product endorsement purposes.
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