This document describes practices to reduce NPS pollution of surface waters and ground water through the protection and restoration of wetlands and riparian areas, as well as the implementation of vegetated treatment systems. It will provide background information about NPS pollution, including where it comes from and how it enters the nations waters; discusses the broad concept of assessing and addressing water quality problems on a watershed level; and presents recent technical information about how certain types of NPS pollution can be reduced effectively through the implementation of these management measures. This document is not intended to be used as a design guide for restoring or constructing wetlands, nor should it replace input from experts during the planning or implementation phases of wetland or riparian area creation or restoration. Although the scope of this guidance is broad and includes many diverse wetland and riparian area NPS topics, a number of issues are not covered. Such issues include treatment wetlands for abandoned mine drainage and wastewater treatment wetlands. Application of constructed wetlands as an alternative to conventional engineering methods for the treatment of mine drainage and wastewater is gaining recognition as a reliable and economical method for improving water quality.

"EPA 841-B-05-003"--Page 2 of cover. "July 2005." Publication location information from Nonpoint Source Control Branch website. Includes bibliographical references.