How Natural Coastal Systems Function for Flood/Pollution Control and Storm Damage Prevention and the

Effects of Human Alterations

Georgeann  Keer,  Project  Manager,  Mass  Division  of  Ecological  Restora8on    

Department  of  Fish  and  Game  

Mary  Griffin,  Commissioner    

n  Physical  Restora8on  n  Freshwater  and  Salt  Water  

n  Flow  Restora8on  n  RIFLS,  Dam  Management,  Comprehensive  Water  Planning  

n  Technical  Assistance  (Riverways  Program)  n  Adopt-­‐A-­‐Stream,  Wild  &  Scenic  Rivers,  Water  Quality,  etc.  

The  mission  of  the  Division  of  Ecological  Restora5on  is  to  restore  and  protect  the  Commonwealth’s  rivers,  wetlands  and  watersheds  for  the  benefit  of  people  and  the  environment.  

Division  of  Ecological  Restora8on  (DER)  

North Shore: Amesbury, Beverly, Danvers, Essex, Gloucester, Ipswich, Lynn, Manchester, Marblehead, Nahant, Newbury, Newburyport, Peabody, Revere, Rockport, Rowley, Salem, Salisbury, Saugus, and Swampscott

The  Massachuse>s  Coastal  Zone  

Both figures from A Guide to the Coastal Wetlands Regulations, MA Dept. of Environmental Protection, 1979

Original: Clearwater Estates, MA Dept. of Environmental Protection, 1987

Salt marshes

Tidal Flats

Salt Ponds

Shellfish Beds

Coastal Freshwater Streams, Ponds and

Wetlands (BVW)

Submerged Aquatic Vegetation

Eelgrass Beds

Beaches Barrier Beaches Rocky Shores

Dunes Banks

Bays Sounds

Uplands (Buffer Zones)

Natural Systems in the Coastal Zone

Marine Estuarine Riverine / Lacustrine / Palustrine

Bays & Sounds

•  Large physically protected bodies of water.

•  Support many coastal habitats (eelgrass beds, shellfish beds, salt marshes etc.).

Submerged Aquatic Vegetation / Eelgrass Beds

Mass Bays Program: Eelgrass Beds, Manchester Harbor, MA

Photo: Ruppia maritima, Marilee Lovit, NEWFS

Pollution Control: •  Leaves facilitate deposition of particles and

absorb pollutants, improving water quality (Short and Short, 1984).

•  Absorb nutrients such as Nitrogen and Phosphorous.

Flood Control & Storm Damage Prevention: •  Attenuation of wave energy(Fonseca & Cahalan,

1992). •  Erosion control functions, stabilizing sediment with

extensive roots and rhizomes (Ward et al. 1984).

Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies

•  Dredging.

•  Excessive nutrients from urban runoff cause harmful algal blooms that block the sunlight / impede growth.

•  Structures, such as docks, can prevent eelgrass from getting enough sunlight.

•  Scarring and uprooting of plants from boat propellers, chain anchors, and moorings

•  Some shellfish harvesting practices, such as hydraulic clamming, damage eelgrass beds.

Human Alterations Loss of Habitat Loss of Ecosystem Services

www.buzzardsbay.org

www.buzzardsbay.org

Beaches Barrier Beaches Rocky Shores

Dunes Banks

Pollution Control: •  Beaches and dunes provide water

quality services through water filtration, nutrient cycling, nutrient uptake and water storage.

•  Dune vegetation takes up nutrients such as Nitrogen and Phosphorous / Pollutants.

Flood Control & Storm Damage Prevention: •  Coastal Dunes, Banks and

Beaches supply sand to / maintain each other.

•  Attenuation of wind and wave (Fonseca & Cahalan,1992) energy.

•  Absorb storm surge. •  Delay or prevent inland

flooding.

VLAAMS INSTITUUT VOOR DE ZEE

http://www.landforms.eu/Lothian/beach.htm

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/10/30/hurricane-sandy-passes-tribes-begin-assessing-damage-143084

The Trustees of Reservations: Crane Beach

Human Alterations Loss of Habitat Loss of Ecosystem Services

Coastal structures such as riprap and seawalls decrease the amount reduce sediment supplied directly to the shoreline, caused by the reduction of dune and bank erosion.

Coastal structures (harbors, jetties, groins, breakwaters etc.) alter movement of sediment along the shoreline.

Offshore dredging impacts both sediment transport and wave energy, increasing beach erosion.

Upland stabilized by development interrupts natural erosion and sediment transport toward beaches.

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/multimedia/14416

http://www.dispatch.com

http://www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/residents/parking/

www.clearwater.org

MA DER / Applied Coastal Engineering, Inc.

Salt marshes

Salt Ponds

Tidal Flats

Shellfish Beds

Pollution Control: •  Salt marshes are highly productive

systems; vegetation takes up nutrients, pollutants, sinks for carbon.

•  Filter-feeding shellfish remove microscopic particles (phytoplankton, contaminants, etc.) from the water, improving turbidity, light penetration, and overall water quality as well as serving as a source of nutrients.

Flood Control & Storm Damage Prevention:

•  Salt marshes, tidal flats, salt ponds have a high carrying capacity / act as basins for storm surge and rainfall run-off.

•  Wave attenuation by salt marsh vegetation (Yang et al. 2012) and shellfish (Oysters: Scyphers et al. 2011)

•  Salt marsh vegetation, shellfish beds stablize sediment and reduce shoreline erosion.

Betty Flowers www.essexheritage.org

Wade et al. 1999.

…I wish I had some oysters. I’m not talking about oysters to eat — although a dozen would be nice to go with that leftover bottle of Champagne that I really should drink if the fridge goes off. I’m talking about the oysters that once protected New Yorkers from storm surges, a bivalve population that numbered in the trillions and that played a critical role in stabilizing the shoreline from Washington to Boston. …

An Oyster in the Storm By PAUL GREENBERG NY Times Published: October 29, 2012

Salt marshes

Salt Ponds

Tidal Flats

Shellfish Beds

Human Alterations Loss of Habitat Loss of Ecosystem Services

Direct filling of habitat leads to habitat loss and function, lack of migration potential.

Transportation crossings (bridges, culverts, roads & paths) impound or restrict tidal flow. Altered hydrology reduces flood storage capacity, alters sediment transport.

Tide-gates control flow to tidal marshes / salt ponds. Lack of proper operation reduces flood storage capacity upstream.

Salt marshes

Salt Ponds

Tidal Flats

Shellfish Beds

Human Alterations Loss of Habitat Loss of Ecosystem Services

•  Non-point source pollution including fertilizers, run-off from impervious surfaces lead to habitat degradation and loss of function. Marsh collapse.

•  Coastal development at the mouth of estuarine systems prevents migration of primary tidal channels, increased risk of mouth closure.

•  Ditching

Deegan et al. 2012 Trnerr.org

Coastal Freshwater Streams, Ponds and

Wetlands (BVW)

Pollution Control: •  Freshwater wetlands are highly productive

systems; vegetation takes up nutrients, pollutants, sinks for carbon.

•  Stabilized sediment is prevented from carrying pollutants / affecting water quality downstream.

Flood Control & Storm Damage Prevention:

•  Reduce danger of damaging floods by preventing rapid runoff of water / slow floodwaters to reduce damage.

•  Storage / holding basins for floodwaters.

•  Vegetation stabilizes sediment and creates friction / absorbs energy from floods and wave action, reducing erosion.

Restored Freshwater Marsh, Fairhaven, MA / NOAA

Human Alterations Loss of Habitat Loss of Ecosystem Services

•  Filling of wetlands decreases / removes flood storage capacity.

•  Non-point source pollution including fertilizers, run-off from impervious surfaces / point-source pollution lead to habitat degradation and loss of function.

•  Channelized and impervious surfaces reduce infiltration, increase runoff and accelerate movement of floodwaters

L.A., Hieu Nguyen

Alewife Brook, MA, Magicpiano

www.buzzardsbay.org

•  Transportation crossings (bridges, culverts, roads & paths) impound or restrict stream flow. Altered hydrology reduces flood storage capacity, alters sediment transport.

•  More than 3000 dams in MA •  43 are flood control dams •  44 licensed hydropower dams •  164 water supply dams •  Federal, state, NGO, municipal owners

…and what about Dams?

DAM!

DAM! HOT!

HOT DIGGETY

DAM!

•  Block fish passage

•  Warm temperatures

•  Trap sediment and nutrients

•  Degrade water quality

Uplands (Buffer Zones)

Pollution Control: •  Vegetation uptake of

nutrients and pollutants. •  Stabilized sediment is

prevented from carrying pollutants / affecting water quality downstream.

Flood Control & Storm Damage Prevention: •  Healthy upland natural

communities soak up precipitation and allow it to slowly drain into streams and rivers while moderating stream flows and limiting erosion.

•  Natural rates of erosion

supply sediment to maintain habitats (wetlands, beaches etc.) downstream.

•  Undeveloped upland

provides space for wetland migration (Long-term).

Smith, J.A.M. 2013

Bartlett Dam Removal, Alex Hackman

Uplands (Buffer Zones)

Human Alterations Loss of Habitat Loss of Ecosystem Services

Primary alteration to upland habitat is development. Uplands are least-protected habitat (lacking in regulations as compared to wetlands etc.).

•  Increased impervious

surface exacerbates flooding from runoff and contributes toward non-point source pollution.

•  Hardened structures (buildings, paving, etc.) interrupt flow, increase flooding, and alter natural patterns of sediment transport that sustain habitats downstream.

Fall River, MA, Herald News

Left, Photograph by Mark Holtzman; right, By George Riethof.

DER  Projects  n  Over 1,000 acres of coastal

wetlands restored

n  Over 200 miles of stream continuity restored

n  73 active projects

n  Over 75 restoration projects completed

n  Over 30 dam removal projects in design and permitting

n  5 active urban river revitalization projects

n  Assisting on largest salt marsh restoration project on eastern seaboard (1,110 acres- Herring River, Wellfleet)

Briggsville Dam, Clarksburg, September 2008

Photo by B. Lambert

15 feet

June 2011

Newman Road, Newbury

Worlds End, Hingham

2009 2010

Ballou Dam, Yokum Brook, Becket 2006

September, 2011

Jones River, Kingston, MA

Summary •  Human alterations to the coastal

landscape have significantly affected the pollution control, flood control, and storm damage prevention functions of these natural systems.

•  Look at restoration opportunities to

address loss of these functions.

•  Look ahead at how Global Climate Change / SLR will change these systems and incorporate in future plans / designs.

Wetlands to provide a storm surge buffer for New York City. Image from Architecture Research Office