Sustainable Solutions for Water Resources

James L. Sipes is Senior Associate with AECOM and the founding Principal of Sand County Studios. He is an award-winning landscape architect with more than twenty-five years of experience, and has written more than 300 articles for a variety of magazines, including frequent contributions to Landscape Architecture magazine.

• Acknowledgments xi1.0 Overview 11.1 The Importance of Water Resources 11.2 Overview of Water Resources 31.2.1 Rivers and Streams 31.2.2 Groundwater and Aquifers 51.2.3 Lakes and Reservoirs 91.2.4 Wetlands 101.2.5 Coastal Zones 121.2.6 Precipitation 151.2.7 Sources of Information 172.0 Issues Involving Water Resources in the United States 192.1 Global Warming and Climate Change 192.1.1 Impacts of Climate Change 192.1.2 Addressing Climate Change 212.1.3 Sources of Information 212.2 Drought and Water Wars 222.2.1 Worldwide Water Wars 242.2.2 Southwest Water Wars 242.2.3 Southeast Water Wars 262.2.4 Peachtree Water Wars 272.3 Water Demands 302.3.1 Meeting Needs 302.3.2 Demands in Las Vegas 322.3.3 Uses of Water 332.3.4 Options for Meeting Demands 332.3.5 Water Sources 342.4 Development Pressures 352.4.1 Traditional Approaches to Meet Demands 352.4.2 Growth in the South 362.4.3 The Corps Meeting Demands 382.5 Environmental Concerns 392.5.1 Wadeable Streams Assessment 402.5.2 National Rivers and Streams Assessment 402.5.3 Large River Bioassessment Protocols 412.6 Economic Concerns 422.6.1 Cost of Water 422.6.2 Infrastructure Cost 422.6.3 Costs of Polluted Water 432.6.4 Privatization 442.7 Agricultural Uses 442.7.1 Impacts 452.7.2 Reducing Impacts 472.8 Water Quality 482.8.1 Water Quality Regulations 492.9 Legal Issues 542.9.1 Riparian Rights 542.9.2 First in Time 542.9.3 Groundwater Soil Moisture and Precipitation 552.9.4 Direct Flow and Storage 562.9.5 Water Law 563. 0 Sustainable Planning Approaches for Water Resources 593.1 An International and U.S. National Perspective on Water Resources Laws Policies Regulations and Permits 593.1.1 Federal Reserved Water Rights 603.1.2 National Laws Acts and Policies 603.1.3 Other Acts 623.1.4 Water for America Initiative 633.1.5 Federal Agencies Involved with Water Resources 633.1.6 Clean Water Act 663.1.7 Water for America Initiative 693.1.8 Flood Management at a National Level 693.1.9 National Drought Policy 723.2 Planning at the State Level 743.2.1 State Actions 763.3 Regional Approaches to Water Management 823.3.1 Interstate Water Commissions 823.3.2 Regional Approaches within States 843.3.3 Power Companies 863.4 Planning at the District Level 883.4.1 St. Johns River Water Management District 903.4.2 Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District 913.5 Watershed Planning 923.5.1 Conservation Approach 933.5.2 Watershed Assessment 953.5.3 Tools for Water Resource Analysis 953.5.4 Watershed Boundaries 963.6 Water Markets and Water Supply Systems 983.7 Wetland Planning and Wetland Banking 993.7.1 Wetland Recommendations 1003.7.2 Wetlands Data 1013.7.3 Wetlands of International Importance 1033.7.4 National Wetlands Inventory 1033.7.5 National Data 1043.7.6 Wetland Mapper 1053.7.7 Wetlands Master Geodatabase 1053.7.8 Data at the State Level 1063.8 Stormwater Management and Erosion Control 1073.8.1 State Procedures 1093.8.2 Minimizing Erosion 1103.8.3 Controlling Pollution 1113.9 Land Use Planning and Management 1113.9.1 Land Use and Zoning 1123.9.2 Ordinances 1133.9.3 Land Use Data 1133.10 Shoreline Management 1143.10.1 Stabilization and Protection 1153.10.2 Shoreline Ownership and Access 1153.10.3 Shoreline Use Permits 1163.11 Natural Resource Protection 1163.11.1 Local to Federal 1163.12 Urban Hydrology 1173.12.1 Existing Systems 1193.12.2 Impervious Cover Model 1193.12.3 Sewage and Septic 1203.12.4 Trees in Urban Watersheds 1203.12.5 Landscape in Flux 1223.12.6 Watershed Scale 1223.13 Groundwater Protection 1233.13.1 A Sustainable Approach 1243.13.2 Data at the Local Level 1243.13.3 Data at the National Level 1253.13.4 Groundwater Modeling 1253.14 Water Outreach Efforts 1263.14.1 Demonstration Projects 1283.15 Case Studies 1284.0 Sustainable Practices for Site Planning Design and Implementation 2074.1 Developing Goals and Objectives 2074.2 Working with Local Stakeholders 2114.2.1 Types of Stakeholders 2124.2.2 Web-Based Communication Technologies 2144.2.3 Public Involvement Plan 2154.3 Design Process 2154.3.1 Research 2164.3.2 Inventory/Analysis 2164.3.3 Synthesis 2184.3.4 Implementation 2204.4 Lake Management Plan and Actions 2234.4.1 Lake Water Quality 2234.4.2 Water Changes 2244.4.3 Water Clarity Readings 2264.5 River Lake and Wetland Restoration 2284.5.1 Hydromodification 2284.5.2 Stream Repair Practices 2294.5.3 Fish Passages 2304.5.4 Constructed Wetlands 2304.5.5 Unified Stream Assessment 2314.5.6 Bridging Solutions 2324.5.7 U.S. Gulf Coast 2334.6 Low-Impact Development and Smart Growth 2354.6.1 Low-Impact Development 2354.6.2 Smart Growth 2384.7 Recreational Use 2404.7.1 Marinas 2434.8 Wildlife Management and Habitat Restoration 2444.8.1 Habitat Restoration Efforts 2444.8.2 Federal Wildlife Programs 2474.9 New Lakes Reservoirs and Dams 2484.9.1 Tennessee Permitting Process for New Dams 2504.9.2 Dam Removal 2514.10 Land Acquisition 2524.10.1 Fee Simple Acquisition 2524.10.2 Conservation Easements 2524.10.3 Leases Deed Restrictions and Covenants 2524.10.4 Purchase of Development Rights 2534.10.5 Transfer of Development Rights 2534.10.6 Land Trusts 2544.10.7 Acquisition Programs 2544.11 Best Management Practices 2554.11.1 BMP Databases 2554.11.2 Structural and Nonstructural Best Management Practices 2574.11.3 Vegetative Practices 2574.11.4 Runoff and Sediment Control 2594.11.5 Wetlands 2594.11.6 Rainwater Harvesting 2604.11.7 Rooftop Runoff Management 2614.11.8 Filtering Systems 2614.11.9 Erosion and Sediment Control Plans 2624.11.10 Controlling Runoff from Croplands 2654.12 Case Studies 2665.0 Conclusion 3275.1 Avoiding Predictions 3275.2 A Focus on Sustainability 3275.3 Revisiting Atlanta 3285.4 Legal Battles 3285.5 Addressing the Problem 3295.6 The Future 329Further Reading 331References 335Index 345