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aersl~e aae et s ey ® r® ~ ~I°1C~9S ~t~I° ~S®tl~C~S from the National Research Council of the National Academies The quality of the nation's most polluted waters has improved enormously over the past 20 years, largely as a result of strong action taken to control ~llution from sources such as municipal wastewater treatment plants and industrial dis- charges. Ironically, however, some of the cleanest waters have continued to degrade because pollution from other more diffuse sources, such as urban and agricultural runoff, is harder to control. The recent emergence of toxic organisms like I'fisteria in streams flowing to the Chesapeake Bay and cryptosporidium in Milwaukee's water supply underscores the fact that many lakes, rivers, wetlands, and coastal areas across America fail to meet federal water quality standards. Some bodies of water have experienced loss of biodiversity, decline of fisheries, and curtailment in commercial and recreational activities. Although effective in protecting drinking water, the current patchwork of federal, state, and local regulations does not consider the full range of benefits provided by watersheds in an integrated way, according to a new report from a committee of the National Research Council. Instead, the committee believes that the more systems-oriented perspec- tive offered by watershed-scale manage- ment would improve water resources that have been degraded by pollution. Reauthorization of the Clean Water Act offers the nation an important opportu- nity to strengthen its attention to water- sheds and the many human activities that affect or are affected by water. The reauthorized Clean Water Act should be designed to conserve and enhance an ecosystem's natural ability to detoxify water; empower local and regional watershed managers to consolidate their authority to increase efficiency and improve cost effectiveness; and encour- age partnerships between the manage- ment agencies and the National Science Foundation (NSF), given NSF's role in funding related scientific research. By managing on the scale of entire watersheds -which include drainage areas and the water, soils, vegetation, animals, land use, and human activities associated with them -policy-makers can find long-term solutions to many natural resource problems. Watershed- scale management can be difficult because it requires cooperation and information sharing across different jurisdictions and agencies, the committee said. But it can be the best way to address diverse resource management problems in an integrated way because it draws together concepts from the physical, biological, social, and economic sciences. To date, watershed management has been most successful at small scales and in relatively simple systems, while implementation has been more difficult in larger, more- complex watersheds where more prob- lems, and more people's interests, must be addressed. In addition to suggestions for improving the Clean Water Act, the Research Council committee offered other advice for steering the nation toward improved watershed management. Among the committee's recommendations: The president and Congress should establish a stable and dedicated source of funding for the federal portion of water- shed management partnerships, such as a trust fund or revenue sharing strategy. Funds should be available to state, regional, and local organizations for research, planning, implementation, and ongoing evaluation of watershed initia- tives. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U. S. Geological Survey and Department of Agriculture, NSF, and other federal agencies involved in watershed studies should increase their investment in research to gather data critical to watershed management including information on toxic contami- nants and the water quality of streams. These agencies should support focused research, rather than diffuse programs, because it is more useful for guiding and informing management practices. States should establish and maintain statewide databases that contain ecologi- cal, social, and economic information organized and presented by watershed size. These databases should be available to local watershed managers through the Internet. The engineering and scientific communi- ties should develop better, more-user- friendly computer systems to help decision-makers understand and evaluate alternative management approaches at the watershed scale. In their normal course of work, federal agencies should examine the watershed- wide implications of their policies, programs, and processes for issuing permits for dredging or filling wetlands. They also should take into account the ecological, social, and economic conse- quences of their actions, rather than using a limited project-by-project approach. The National Research Council is the principal operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. It is a private, nonprofit institution that provides independent advice on science and technology issues under a congressional charter. The report was funded by the Tennessee Valley Authority, Environmen- tal Protection Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Forest Service, McKnight Foundation, and National Water Re- search Institute. Clifton J. Aichinger, Administrator of Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed )(District served on the NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources Water Science and Technology Board Copies of IVew Strategies for America's Watersheds are available from the National Academy Press for $42.95 (prepaid) plus shipping charges of $4.00 for the first copy and $.50 for each additional copy; tel. (202) 334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242 or http://www.nas.edu.