© Copyright 2004 by the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities
Page 2
Introduction
Over the past 30 years, America has practices around the country. In
achieved spectacular results with new some areas, water quality has
water pollution control technology. improved significantly. Still, funda-
Rivers that spontaneously ignited, mental changes are necessary to
harbors clogged with raw sewage, address such problems as the Gulf of
streams with the other-worldly hues Mexico’s expanding “dead zone,”
of industrial chemicals – all of these caused by nitrogen from farming as
seem like visions from another era. far inland as Iowa.
But our failures to protect water and The second largest, and fastest grow-
The second largest, aquatic life have been almost as spec- ing, source of runoff is sprawl – the
and fastest growing, tacular as our technological success- wasteful and dysfunctional patterns
source of runoff es. Today, vast quantities of pollu- of development that characterize
is sprawl – the tants still flow into our nation’s most changes to the American land-
wasteful and waters. Small creeks and streams scape over the past 40 years.
dysfunctional experience damaging increases in Between 1983 and 1997, the U.S.
patterns of water temperature during summer converted to subdivisions and strip
rains. Critical fish habitat is washed malls one-fourth of all the land that
development that
away. Nationwide, hundreds of has been used for urban purposes
characterize most thousands of miles of rivers are since European settlement. These
changes to the unsafe for swimming or fishing. trends, along with three decades of
American landscape Millions of acres of bays and sounds water quality research, make it clear
over the past 40 that once supported healthy shellfish that comprehensive land use reform
years. are off-limits and degraded. is essential to protecting our nation’s
water resources.
This environmental disgrace is
caused by “non-point source” pollu- Improving the way our communities
tion – the toxic soup of contami- grow is a formidable challenge.
nants that flows from developed Water, however, is arguably the most
land, roads, and farm fields, ulti- potent symbol of our nation’s eco-
mately making its way to America’s logical health. In poll after poll,
rivers, streams, and estuaries. Failing water ranks as America’s top environ-
to act against non-point source pol- mental concern. Because we can now
lution will consign waters that are draw a hard linkage between settle-
healthy today to severe and irre- ment patterns and the condition of
versible declines in coming decades. our lakes, rivers, and streams, we
have an enormously forceful argu-
Chemically-assisted agriculture ment for land use reform.
remains the nation’s largest source of
polluted runoff. Tremendous effort Encouragingly, the patterns of
has gone into improving farming growth that will sustain our nation’s
Page 3
waters will also advance other com- the needs of watershed protection. It
munity goals – goals such as afford- is hard to imagine a more com-
able housing, social equity, trans- pelling combination of purposes
portation efficiency, and fiscal converging on a single goal – the
responsibility. The requisite develop- reform of development in the
ment patterns are similar to those nation’s metropolitan regions and
promoted by smart growth advo- rural landscapes.
cates, but they are further shaped by
tists call the results of these alter- Of the estuaries surveyed by EPA,
ations “non-point source” pollution more than 5,000 square miles, an
(also called runoff ). The term area almost the size of the state of
implies that this type of pollution is New Jersey, failed to meet designated
similar, except in its mode of trans- uses because of urban runoff.2
port, to “point sources” like factories
and wastewater treatment plants. In Efforts to protect and restore the
reality, they have very little in com- Chesapeake Bay in Maryland have
mon. Rather than representing a for- run headlong into the obstacle of
eign contaminant discreetly dumped growth, development, and watershed
into a river through a pipe, non- alteration. According to the EPA,
point source pollution is a funda- over the course of a year, rain flushes
mental alteration of the system itself. more than 442,000 tons of sedi-
It should be no surprise, then, that ment, three million pounds of phos-
dealing with runoff has proven phorous, and 28.2 million pounds of
extremely difficult. nitrogen into the Bay. This runoff
has degraded almost 1,600 miles of
How extensive is the damage from streams and thousands of acres of
urban and suburban runoff? How do fish and shellfish habitat.3
we solve the problem? We have
known for decades that runoff is Surface runoff is not the only form
responsible for more than half of the of water pollution that sprawl pro-
water pollution nationwide. In 2000, duces. Automobile exhaust from dra-
the U.S. Environmental Protection matic increases in driving is a pri-
Agency (EPA) identified more than mary source of air-borne nitrogen,
200,000 miles of rivers where water one of the most damaging aquatic
quality was not adequate to support pollutants. Fully one-quarter of
a balanced population of aquatic life. nitrogen pollution in the Chesapeake
Of the rivers surveyed, almost one- Bay comes through the air.
third did not meet state standards
for swimming.1 Although at the Sprawl also places drinking water
national scale agriculture produces supplies at risk. When watersheds
more runoff than sprawl does, on are covered with roads, parking lots,
the coast and in metropolitan and other hard surfaces from new
regions in the interior – in the places development, less water filters
the majority of Americans live – through the soil to replenish under-
sprawl is the single biggest water pol- ground aquifers – the sources of
lution problem. much of our nation’s drinking water.
A recent study concludes that major
On the coast, the EPA reports that metropolitan areas lose tens of bil-
urban runoff nationwide causes one- lions of water to runoff annually.
third of the damage to estuaries that Growth in Atlanta during the 1980s
fail to meet water quality standards. and ‘90s, for example, deprived that
Page 5
tants into the aquatic environment. and caddisflies falls sharply when
These include sediment, nutrients imperviousness exceeds ten percent.10
such as nitrogen and phosphorus, These organisms represent the base
organic carbon, trace metals such as of the food chain on which fish and
copper, zinc, and lead, petroleum other wildlife depend. Later studies
hydrocarbons, and pesticides.9 derived similar results.
The growth of plants and algae in Studies of fish reinforce the proposi-
coastal estuaries is generally con- tion that paved watersheds fail to
trolled by the amount of available support a natural diversity of species.
nitrogen. Consequently, additional Particularly affected groups include
nitrogen from development can trout and salmon and other species
cause algal blooms. The subsequent of anadromous fish. These sensitive
decay of these organisms can reduce species disappeared as impervious
dissolved oxygen levels below the surfaces covered ten to 12 percent of
threshold needed by some species of the watershed. Impervious water-
fish and invertebrates. Additionally, sheds created barriers to migration
over-fertilization reduces water clari- for anadromous species, illustrated
ty and allows less light to penetrate by sharp declines in eggs and larvae
below the water’s surface. This dam- in hardened watersheds.11
ages sea grass beds, coral reefs, and
other critical aquatic habitats. More driving and more developed
land means more damage to our
Although over-fertilization by phos- rivers, streams, and estuaries. It’s a
phorus can be postponed by simple and discouraging equation.
installing stormwater controls like The remainder of this paper will
detention ponds, nitrogen is reveal just how rapidly these changes
extremely mobile, and more difficult are occurring. More importantly,
to contain. This makes land use though, it will become clear that
strategies essential in protecting these losses are not inevitable. There
water bodies from nutrient pollution. are distinct choices that communities
can make to preserve their water
Aquatic Life resources and accommodate growth.
Aquatic life is the ultimate measure Further, the same patterns of growth
of ecosystem health. Here, too, the that protect water also serve many
ten percent rule applies. Some of the other important goals in the fields of
earliest research on watershed cover- transportation, housing, and eco-
age was done on aquatic insects in nomic development. But as the next
freshwater streams. This work con- section suggests, current develop-
cluded that the diversity of macroin- ment trends place water resources at
vertebrates like stoneflies, mayflies, great risk.
Page 8
Technology Advances
The coming decades will undoubted- driving has more than offset increases
ly produce innovations that will in fuel efficiency. Urban expansion
reduce runoff from human settlement has overwhelmed improvements in
and urban activities. More efficient stormwater management practices.
cars and alternative energy sources The fact remains that the only suc-
could reduce the amount of nitrogen cessful strategy to fully protect aquatic
Opportunities and petroleum compounds that flow systems is to allow natural watersheds
for Funders into the nation’s rivers and streams. to perform their irreplaceable func-
Restoration of urban wetlands, tions of storage, purification, and
• Regional Planning rooftop gardens, water gardens, sys- measured release. If we delay land use
tems that use runoff to recharge reforms in anticipation of unprece-
• Federal and State groundwater, could all help protect dented, large scale technological
Transportation water bodies. We should encourage advances, we are likely to be sorely
Policy Reform and embrace these advances. They disappointed in the outcome.
may help stem the decline of the Building great communities and pro-
• Education on the streams and estuaries that exist within tecting rural landscapes remains the
urbanized watersheds. most effective, least expensive
Water Quality/
approach to preserving water
Land Use
But trends over the past few decades resources.
Connection
have not been promising. Increased
• Research on the
Water Quality/
Land Use Opportunities for Funders
Connection Making the water quality/land use funder would have to understand the
connection presents a difficult chal- regional growth context. The most
• Strategic Land lenge for funders. There is risk of promising opportunities to achieve
Protection supporting projects that have unin- water quality improvement through
tended and undesirable conse- land use reform involve supporting
• Downtown quences. For example, a river protec- comprehensive regional planning
Redevelopment tion group may seek to reduce devel- efforts.
opment densities in a watershed in
order to protect a particular stream, Regional Planning:
but that watershed may lie within an Challenges and Opportunities
area where development is appropri- Few metropolitan regions have pro-
ate and necessary to meet regional duced competent regional plans that
growth needs. Density reductions, in channel future growth. Virtually
that case, would force growth into none has developed a plan that com-
other watersheds less appropriate for prehensively assesses the needs of
development. In order to make the watersheds and directs growth
correct decision on the grant, the accordingly. Fortunately, our grow-
Page 15
Conclusion
The relationship between land use groups in one “silo” or another. We
and water quality is the ultimate hope this paper contributes by more
expression of the interdependency of clearly explaining the reform move-
humans and nature. It is the grand ment’s goals and convincing poten-
unifying theory of the environment, tial supporters that success is possible
in which support for affordable against what appear to be substantial
housing and equitable transportation odds.
options converges with the habitat
needs of trout and salmon. The Failing to act in this arena will con-
argument is relatively complex, but demn our nation’s rivers, lakes, and
it has a uniquely powerful capacity estuaries to inexorable decline. Now
to bring varied interests together is the time for funders, advocates,
around an agenda of reform. To business, and public sector leaders to
date, funders have not widely partic- prove that growth that protects the
ipated in work that crosses these dis- integrity of the nation’s waters is
ciplines but rather have supported both desirable and achievable.
Page 19
Endnotes
1. For more information, visit www.epa.gov/waters/w305b/index.html.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Schueler, T., and H.K. Holland. 2000. The Practice of Watershed Protection. Center for Watershed Protection, Ellicott City,
Maryland.
6. Booth, D. 1991. “Urbanization and the natural drainage system—impacts, solutions, and prognoses.” Northwest Environmental
Journal 7(1):93-118. Booth, D., and L. Reinelt. 1993. “Consequences of urbanization on aquatic systems: measured effects,
degradation thresholds, and corrective strategies.” In Proceedings of Watershed ’93, A National Conference on Watershed
Management. Alexandria, Virginia.
7. Booth, D., and L. Reinelt, op.cit. Galli, J. 1991. “Thermal impacts associated with urbanization and stormwater management best
management practices.” Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, Maryland Department of Environment, Washington,
D.C. Shaver, E.J., Maxted, G. Curtis, and D. Carter. 1995. “Watershed protection using an integrated approach.” In Stormwater
NPDES-related Monitoring Needs. Engineering Foundation. Crested Butte, Colorado. August 7-12, 1994. American Society of Civil
Engineers.
8. Galli, J., op.cit.
9. Schueler, T., op.cit.
10. Klein, R. 1979. “Urbanization and stream quality impairment.” American Water Resources Association. Water Resources Bulletin.
15(4).
11. Schueler, T., op.cit.
12. The NRI definition of “developed land” is land in residential, commercial, industrial, or institutional use, or land occupied by urban
and surburban amenities such as golf courses, airports, and landfills. NRI. 2001. National Resources Inventory. Natural
Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20 Dec. 2001. www.nhq.nrcs.usda.gov/
NRI/1997.
13. U.S. Census Bureau. 2000. United States Census 2000. January 9, 2002. www.census.gov/population/projections/nation/
summary/np-tl.txt.
14. Wallis, A.D., E. Aguelles, D. Lampe, and M. Meehan. 2001. “Imaging the region: south Florida via indicators and public opinions.”
Florida Atlantic University/Florida International University Joint Center for Urban and Environmental Problems. Miami, Florida.
December 20, 2001. www.jc.fau.edu/3publications/imagingtheregion.pdf.
15. Ibid.
16. www.smartgrowthamerica.com.
17. Schueler, T., op.cit.
18. For more information about private land conservation, see the Land Trust Alliance web site at www.lta.org, The Nature
Conservancy at www.nature.org, Ducks Unlimited at www.ducks.org, the Trust for Public Land at www.tpl.org, and the
Conservation Fund at www.conservationfund.org.
19. Frank, L. 2000. “Land use transportation interaction: implications on public health and quality of life.” Journal of Planning,
Education, and Research. 20(1):6-22.
20. Kouri, C. 1999. “Wait for the bus: how lowcountry school site selection and design deter walking to school and contribute to urban
sprawl.” South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, Charleston, South Carolina.
Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities
Publications & Resources
Funders’ Network publications, transcripts, meeting and call summaries, and other related materials may
be downloaded from the “Resources” section of our website: www.fundersnetwork.org. Printed copies are
also available upon request. Please e-mail info@fundersnetwork.org for more information.