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Protecting Water Resources with Smart Growth
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Growth and development can have adverse effects on water resources, including loss of woodlands, meadowlands, wetlands and increased polluted run-off. Increases in impermeable cover and vehicle traffic also can negatively impact water quality and quantity. To address these and other impacts, local governments are developing smarter approaches to growth. They are looking for, and using, policies and tools that enhance existing neighborhoods, improve schools, protect drinking water, and provide attractive housing and transportation choices.
Protecting Water Resources with Smart Growth is intended for audiences such as communities, local governments, state and regional planners already familiar with smart growth and are now seeking more ideas on how to protect their water resources. The document is a compilation of 75 policies designed to protect water resources and implement smart growth. The majority of these policies (46) are oriented to the watershed, or regional level; the other 29 are targeted for specific development sites.
Protecting Water Resources with Smart Growth is one in a series of publications on smart growth produced or supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Earlier publications, such as EPA's Our Built and Natural Environments (PDF) (102 pp, 1.6 MB) or the International City/County Management Association's Getting to Smart Growth: 100 Policies for Implementation (PDF) (104 pp, 2.7 MB), Why Smart Growth (PDF) (44 pp, 873 K), and Best Development Practices (PDF) (30 pp, 1.1 MB), provide basic background on smart growth and a broad range of smart growth techniques.
Download Protecting Water Resources with Smart Growth (PDF) (120 pp, 1.4 MB)
To receive a free copy of the report, send an email to nscep@bps-lmit.com or call 1-800-490-9198 and request EPA publication 231-R-04-002.