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Coastal Watershed Factsheets
Nearshore Waters and Your Coastal Watershed
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
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Office of Water
(4504F) |
EPA 842-F-98-007
July 1998 |
earshore waters in
lakes, rivers, estuaries, and oceans reflect the conditions and activities
within the coastal watershed. They are an important component of that complex
and dynamic watershed.
What Are Nearshore Waters and What Do They Do?
Stand on any beach or shoreline and look out toward the water. What you'll see
is an area called the nearshore, which is a part of all coastal watersheds. The
nearshore is defined as an indefinite zone extending seaward from the shoreline
well beyond the breaker zone. It defines the area where the current system is
caused primarily by wave action.
Whether marine or freshwater, nearshore waters serve a variety of
functions.
- They provide a unique habitat for a variety of plants and animals. Sea
grasses and other aquatic plants living in the nearshore waters provide food
and shelter for many species of fish and shellfish. Many marine organisms,
including most commercially valuable fish species, depend on nearshore waters
at some point during their development. Nearshore waters provide habitat for 80
percent of the fish species in the United States.
- Numerous recreational opportunities such as boating, diving, swimming,
surfing, snorkeling, and fishing are provided in the nearshore waters.
- Nearshore waters provide countless educational and research opportunities
for scientists, students, naturalists, and the curious.
Some Impacts on the Nearshore Environment
Water quality in most confined waters and some nearshore waters is
deteriorating, and this degradation is affecting the plant and animal life
inhabiting nearshore areas. Industrial and municipal wastewater, storm water
and agricultural runoff, and destruction of important habitat areas such as
wetlands can affect water resources and are contributing to the general
degradation of nearshore waters.
People using nearshore waters can have an adverse impact on aquatic
resources. Recreational uses like boating can cause water quality problems if
not carried out in a conscientious manner. Trash dumped from boats can pose a
threat to humans and marine species. Boat engines that have not been properly
maintained can leak fuel into the nearshore waters, causing water quality
degradation. Activities upstream in the watershed can impact these waters. For
example, trash washed into city storm sewers might eventually be carried into
the nearshore waters. Garbage left on the beach can wash into the waters with
the tide. Water quality problems and debris not only harm the sensitive aquatic
habitat in the nearshore waters but are aesthetically displeasing as well.
Nutrients from sources such as sewage, fertilizers, detergents, and
atmospheric deposition can affect nearshore water quality. At excess levels,
nutrients overstimulate the growth of aquatic plants and algae. Excessive
growth of these organisms, in turn, uses up dissolved oxygen as they die and
decompose and blocks light to deeper waters. These conditions affect the
respiration of fish and aquatic invertebrates, lead to a decrease in animal and
plant diversity, and affect our use of the water for fishing, swimming, and
boating. Excess algae can also block industrial intake pipes.
Sediment and other suspended solids can wash off plowed fields,
construction and logging sites, urban areas, strip-mined land, and eroded
stream banks when it rains. As these sediments enter rivers, lakes, coastal
waters, and wetlands, fish respiration is impaired, plant productivity and
water depth are reduced, aquatic organisms and their habitats are smothered,
and the aesthetic enjoyment of the water is diminished.
Pathogens are microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses that can
cause human health problems. These organisms enter water bodies from sources
such as inadequately treated effluent from sewage treatment plants, storm water
drains, faulty septic systems, medical waste, runoff from livestock pens, and
boats that discharge untreated or poorly treated sewage. When found at unsafe
levels in nearshore waters, pathogens can lead to beach and shellfish bed
closures.
Toxic substances, such as metals (e.g., mercury and lead) and toxic
organic chemicals (e.g., PCBs and dioxin), which originate from industrial
discharges, runoff from city streets, mining activities, runoff from landfills,
atmospheric deposition, and a variety of other sources, can
severely disrupt the nearshore waters habitat. These toxic substances can cause
death or reproductive failure in the fish, shellfish, and wildlife that use the
habitat. In addition, they can accumulate in animal and fish tissue (leading to
fish consumption advisories), become attached to sediments, or find their way
into drinking water supplies, posing long-term health risks to humans.
Pesticides and herbicides used on farmlands and lawns can be washed into ground
and surface waters by rainfall, snowmelt, and irrigation practices and may,
ultimately, find their way to nearshore waters. These contaminants are usually
very persistent in the environment and can accumulate in fish, shellfish, and
wildlife to levels that pose a risk to human health and the environment.
Habitat modification results from activities like development,
channelization, dam construction, impacts from storms, and dredging. Shoreline
modification can destroy habitat and result in water quality problems. When
urban shorelines are hardened or filled, habitat diversity decreases. Typical
examples of the effects of habitat modification include loss of streamside
vegetation, siltation, smothering of bottom-dwelling organisms, and increased
water temperatures. The modification of surrounding lands causes water quality
problems that can decrease the number of species capable of living and
reproducing in the nearshore waters.
What Is EPA Doing to Protect Nearshore Waters?
EPA works in partnership with other federal agencies, state and local
governments, other organizations, and the public to improve and protect
nearshore water quality.
EPA's Watershed
Approach-- EPA, other federal agencies, state, tribal, and local
governments, the private sector, and the public have combined their resources
to promote the Watershed Approach as a means of restoring and maintaining the
biological, chemical, and physical quality of our nation's waters, including
nearshore waters. For example, EPA has:
- Increased efforts to assist states in assessing the quality of their
watersheds through a variety of programs.
- Applied watershed planning tools to the wetland permitting process to
identify areas that are suitable or unsuitable for development.
- Assisted states, territories, and tribes in watershed planning and
management activities.
National Estuary Program-- Through the National Estuary
Program (NEP), federal, state, and local government agencies; industry;
environmental organizations; and private citizens work together to create a
formal management plan to restore and protect targeted estuaries and other
coastal areas. This watershed management approach is supported by EPA's
Coastal Watershed Protection Strategy, which provides technical
assistance and support to priority watersheds and the Clean Water Action
Plan (CWAP). CWAP is an interagency plan developed to further protect
public health from pollution.
BEACH Program-- EPA, through its new Beaches Environmental
Assessment, Closure and Health (BEACH) Program, is working with state, tribal,
and local governmental partners to make sure nearshore water quality
information is available to the public. The BEACH Program provides a framework
for local governments to develop equally protective and consistent programs
across the country for monitoring the nearshore water quality along beaches and
posting warnings or closing beaches when pollutant levels are too high.
Other EPA Programs-- EPA works with other federal agencies to
protect human health and aquatic habitats by reducing marine debris. The
efforts include the establishment of the National Marine Debris Monitoring
Program, which looks at the origins and amounts of marine debris deposited
along U.S. coasts. EPA and the Coast Guard work together to regulate the
transportation of municipal and commercial waste on vessels and to issue
regulations for the manufacture, maintenance, and efficiency of marine
sanitation devices (boat toilets), as well as the establishment of "no
discharge zones" for vessel sewage. EPA also regulates the discharge of
pollutants from facilities into nearshore waters. The discharging facilities
must obtain a permit that ensures the removal of materials that might degrade
the nearshore waters. EPA assists states in the development of water quality
standards designed to protect human health and aquatic life. This
assistance includes the development of criteria for water quality that
accurately reflect the most up-to-date scientific knowledge about the effects
of pollutants on aquatic life and human health. In assisting coastal states
with the development of their Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control
Programs, EPA and other federal agencies developed guidance specifying
management measures for sources of nonpoint pollution (diffuse runoff of
pollutants) in coastal and nearshore waters. In its program, a state or
territory describes how it will implement nonpoint source pollution
controls.
What Can You Do to Help Protect Nearshore Waters?
Examine your everyday activities and think about how you might be contributing
to nearshore pollution problems. Consider some of these suggestions on how you
can make a difference.
- Be informed and involved. Learn about water quality issues
that affect the communities in which you live and work. Become familiar with
your local water resources, whether they be small streams, lakes, or oceans. Be
aware if the stream in your backyard drains to nearshore waters. Become a
citizen volunteer. As a volunteer monitor, you might be involved in taking
water quality measurements, tracking the progress of protection and restoration
projects, or reporting special events such as fish kills and storm damage.
Visit or contact your NEP office.
- Take responsibility in your own backyard. Determine whether
additional nutrients are needed before you apply fertilizers. Reduce the use of
pesticides and herbicides. Consider selecting plants and grasses with low
maintenance requirements. Water your lawn conservatively; the less water you
use, the less runoff will eventually find its way into nearshore waters.
Preserve existing trees and plant new trees and shrubs to help prevent erosion
and promote infiltration of water into the soil. Restore bare patches in your
lawn to prevent erosion.
- Practice good housekeeping. Learn about procedures for
disposing of harmful household wastes so they do not end up in sewage treatment
plants that can't handle them or in landfills not designed to receive hazardous
materials. Keep litter, pet waste, leaves, and grass clippings out of gutters
and storm drains so that they don't drain to nearshore waters. Use the minimum
amount of water needed when you wash your car. Never dump any household,
automotive, or gardening wastes into a storm drain. Keep your septic system in
good working order. Repair or replace dripping faucets or leaky pipes and
install water-saving devices in shower heads and toilets. Always follow label
directions for the use and disposal of household chemicals. Take used motor
oil, paints, and other hazardous household materials to proper collection
sites.
- Respect your nearshore waters. Maintain safe boat speeds to
avoid prop dredging and shore erosion. Avoid entering sensitive habitat areas
with your boat or other motorized watercraft. Maintain your boat engine to
prevent fuel leaks. Keep all waste produced during your excursions in a safe
place to be disposed of properly when you're back on land. Use designated
pumpout and dump stations. Maintain and use your marine sanitation devices
properly. Maintain your automobile so that oil doesn't leak and the engine is
tuned to conserve energy. By conserving energy, harmful air emissions leading
to air deposition in nearshore waters are minimized.
For additional information...
Call EPA's Oceans and Coastal Protection Division at (202) 566-1200,
or write to:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds
Oceans and Coastal Protection Division 4504T
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20460
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