Restoring Rivers

The article talks about the water shortage in the U.S.A and current restoration practices. "Between 1973 and 1998, U.S. fresh waters and rivers were getting cleaner. But that trend has reversed. If the reverse continues, U.S rivers will be as dirty in 2016 as they were in the mid-1970s. Water quality is not the only problem. In parts of the United States, the extraction of surface water and ground water is so extreme that some major rivers no longer flow to the sea year round, and water shortages in local communities are a reality." Restoration projects are underway all over the country but only "10% of all restoration project records in the database put together by the National River Restoration Science Synthesis (NRRSS) - included any mention of assessment or evaluation. The study concluded that it is currently impossible to use existing databases to determine whether the desired environmental benefits of river restoration are being achieved. Even when monitoring was reported, it typically was an assessment of project implementation, not ecological outcomes." This is troublesome as it makes it difficult to assess who should be held accountable for the ecological degradation of these watersheds. This is especially true because the amount of human development that has been happening near fresh water. "Despite these and many other efforts to minimize the environmental impact of developing the land or extracting natural resources (such as mining),streams and rivers have continued to degrade. The controls have simply not been able to keep up with the rate of development and associated watershed damage. Moreover, many rivers and streams where suffering years before conservation programs were enacted." A study must be conducted to understand restoration projects as a whole.
"There are more than 40 federal programs that fund stream and river restoration projects. Although large scale high profile projects such as those in the Everglades receive a great deal of attention, most projects in the United States are small in spatial extent. The cumulative costs and benefits of the many small restoration projects can be very high, which argues for better coordination." A more homogenous spread in funding is required which takes into account the extent of the damage to individual watersheds.the ser But currently many federal programs that involve river restoration are being cut, not increased... River restoration is a necessity, not al luxury. U.S. citizens depend on services that healthy streams and rivers provide. People from all walks of life are demanding cleaner, restored waterways. Replacing serices that healthy streams and rivers provide with human-made alternatives is extremely expensive, so river restoration is akin to investments such as highways, municipal works, or electric transmission. Congress already commits billions of taxpayer dollars in public infrastructure through the transportation bill or WRDA. It should make similar investments in natural capital."

Citations:
Restoring Rivers by Margaret A. palmer and J. David Allen

Pictures:
http://www.timpalmer.org/