Citation:

Gross, C. AND Jim Hagy. Attributes of Successful Actions to Restore Lakes and Estuaries Degraded by Nutrient Pollution-. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 187:122-136, (2017).

Impact/Purpose:

This research was conducted as part of our Nutrients Synthesis research in SSWR. The objective was to identify and evaluate water quality management programs that addressed impairments caused by nutrients and were successful in generating ecological improvements. The study identified attributes of the management programs that were most associated with successful outcomes. The manuscript should be of interest to scientists, policy makers, and other stakeholders interested in developing and implementing new management programs seeking to reduce impacts due to nutrients. Such programs may involve implementing Clean Water Act programs such as water quality criteria and TMDLs, as well as watershed management programs such as the EPA include the EPA National Estuary Program.

Description:

As more success is achieved in restoring lakes and estuaries from the impacts of nutrient pollution, there is increased opportunity to evaluate the scientific, social, and policy factors associated with achieving restoration goals. We examined case studies where deliberate actions to reduce nutrient pollution and restore ecosystems resulted in ecological recovery. Prospective cases were identified from scientific literature and technical documents for lakes and estuaries with: (1) scientific evidence of nutrient pollution; (2) restoration actions taken to mitigate nutrient pollution; and (3) documented ecologicalimprovement. Using these criteria, we identified 9 estuaries and 7 lakes spanning countries, climatic regions, physical types, depths, and watershed areas. Among 16 case studies ultimately included, 8 achieved improvements short of stated restoration goals. Five more were successful initially, but condition subsequently declined. Three of the case studies achieved their goals fully and are currently managing to maintain the restored condition. We examined each case to identify both common attributesof nutrient management, grouped into ‘themes’, and variations on those attributes, which were coded into categorical variables based on thorough review of documents associated with each case. The themes and variables were organized into a broad conceptual model illustrating how they relate to each other and to nutrient management outcomes. We then explored relationships among the themes and variables using multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). Results of the MCA suggested that the attributes most associated with achieving restoration goals include: (1) leadership by a dedicated watershedmanagement agency; (2) governance through a bottom-up collaborative process; (3) a strategy that set numeric targets based on a specific ecological goal; and (4) actions to reduce nutrient loads from all sources. While our study did not provide a comprehensive road map to successful nutrient management, it suggested attributes that could be emulated in future efforts. The quantitative approach that was applied could be used to provide ongoing analysis as new examples of nutrient management success emerge.

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