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- Info
Incorporating ecological concepts and biological criteria in the assessment and management of urban nonpoint source pollution
| Author: |
Yoder, C.O. |
| Date: |
1995 |
| Periodical: |
In: Enhancing Urban Watershed Management at the Local, County, and State Levels: National Conference on Urban Runoff Management; 1995; Cincinnati, OH. Chicago , IL: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Center for Environmental Research Information, Offi |
| Abstract: |
The health and well-being of the aquatic biota in surface waters are important barometers of how effectively we are achieving the goals of the Clean Water Act (CWA); namely, the maintenance and restoration of biological integrity and the basic intent of water quality standards. Yet, these tangible products of the CWA regulatory and water quality planning and management efforts are frequently not linked nor equated with the more popularized notion of chemical-physical water quality criteria and other surrogate indicators and endpoints. Simply stated, biological integrity is the combined result of chemical, physical. and biological processes. Nowhere in water quality management and assessment is the interaction of these three factors more apparent than with nonpoint sources. Management efforts that rely solely on comparatively simple chemical-physical water quality criteria surrogates frequently do not result in the full restoration of ecological integrity. Therefore, ecological concepts, criteria, and assessment tools must be incorporated into the prioritization and evaluation of nonpoint source pollution abatement efforts. |
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