Our water systems are being abused. Rivers are becoming increasingly polluted, as well as surface and ground water which are being way overdrawn. River restoration means restoring their ecological and social functions. These include mitigating floods, providing clean drinking water, removing excess nutrients and sediments, and supporting fisheries, wildlife, etc. But the restoration process needs a lot of work. Current projects are not being monitored or implemented properly, and are not being done for the right reasons either. The US needs policy reform on this matter.
Historically rivers became polluted because of increased industry and city growth around them. Currently, poor land stewardship is the main cause. Examples of this are the erosion of farmland, input of toxins from cities and agriculture, increased overland runoff because of paved surfaces causing "flashy" stream flows, floods, and droughts. Some progress has been made, but far from enough. Our goals need to be improved water quality, managing/replanting riparian vegetation, improved habitats, help fish passage and to stabilize river banks. There are many ways to achieve these gials but proven methods should become restoration standards to ensure efficient use of money and resources that goes into these projects.
Federal, state and local agencies must adopt restoration policies. Regulations and laws are required in 4 areas.
1. Federal agencies must be directed to adopt and abide by the standards for successful river restoration. Ecological success must also be defined. The restoration standards are that the design of a project should be based on an image of a healthy river; the river's condition must improve; the river must be self-sustaining and require little maintenance; and assessments must be available to the public.
2. A coordinated tracking system for restoration projects must be implemented. This would help restoration efforts by allowing them to learn from past efforts. It is important to be connected to the other projects going on because many rivers are interconnected. All projects should be monitored and checked for effectiveness.
3. Undertake a national study to evaluate the effectiveness of restoration projects. This is needed to find out which methods are most appropriate and most likely to succeed.
4. Use existing funding for river restoration more efficiently and supplement funding. Preferrably a Water Resources Restoration Act could be developed and this would help authorize and fund river restoration projects. This way money flow can be prioritized and coordinated for maximum efficiency.
Current funding also falls short of what is needed to effectively restore rivers. This is a necessity, not a luxury, and should be thought of in much the same way as highways and buildings need maintenance...an essential responsibility. Changes in agency policies and practices are required and requires congressional oversight and wise spending. With these goals as a priority hopefully our rivers will be clean once again.
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