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For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprodTo order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataEffects of urban development on stream ecosystems in nine metropolitan study areas across the United States : the quality of our nation's waters / by James F. Coles ... [et al.].p. cm. -(Circular ; 1373) Quality of our nation's waters Includes bibliographical references and index. ForewordThe United States has made major investments in assessing, managing, regulating, and conserving natural resources such as water, minerals, soils, and timber. Sustaining the quality of the Nation's water resources and the health of our ecosystems depends on the availability of sound water-resources data and information to develop effective, science-based policies. Effective management of water resources also brings more certainty and efficiency to important economic sectors. Taken together, these actions lead to immediate and long-term economic, social, and environmental benefits that make a difference to the lives of millions of people (http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/applications/).Two decades ago, the Congress established the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program to meet this need. Since then it has served as a primary source of nationally consistent information on the quality of the Nation's streams and groundwater; how water quality changes over time; and how natural features and human activities affect the quality of streams and groundwater. Objective and reliable data, water-quality models and related decision support tools, and systematic scientific studies characterize where, when, and why the Nation's water quality is degradedand what can be done to improve and protect it for human and ecosystem needs. This information is critical to our future because the Nation faces an increasingly complex and growing need for clean water to support population, economic growth, and healthy ecosystems. For example, two thirds of U.S. estuaries are impacted by nutrients and dead zones that no longer fully support healthy fish and other aquatic communities. Forty-two percent of the Nation's streams are in poor or degraded condition compared to reference conditions. Eighty percent of urban streams have at least one pesticide that exceeds criteria to protect aquatic life. Groundwater from about 20 percent of p...

Multiply By To obtain Length mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km) Flow rate million gallons per day (MGD) 0.04381 cubic meters per second (m 3 /s) Note: The abbreviation MGD will be used in this report as an abbreviation for "million gallons per day" for consistency between the text in the body of the report and language used in the programs included in the attachments.

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For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprodTo order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.Suggested citation: Cappiella, Karen, Stack, W.P., Fraley-McNeal, Lisa, Lane, Cecilia, and McMahon, Gerard, 2012, Strategies for managing the effects of urban development on streams: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1378, 69 p. Available online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1378/ Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataStrategies for managing the effects of urban development on streams / by Karen Cappiella ... [et al.].p. cm. Urban development remains an important agent of environmental change in the United States. The U.S. population grew by 17 percent from 1982 to 1997, while urbanized land area grew by 47 percent, suggesting that urban land consumption far outpaced population growth (Fulton and others, 2001; Sierra Club, 2003;American Farmland Trust, 2009) Nowhere are the environmental changes associated with urban development more evident than in urban streams. The U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program investigation of the effects of urban development on stream ecosystems (EUSE) during 1999-2004 provides the most spatially comprehensive analysis of stream impacts of urban development that has been completed in the United States. A nationally consistent study design was used in nine metropolitan areas of the United States-Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; Raleigh, North Carolina; Boston, Massachusetts; Denver, Colorado; Dallas, Texas; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin ( fig. 1; see Effects of Urbanization on Stream Ecosystems).A summary report published as part of the EUSE study describes several of these impacts on urban streams (Coles and others, 2012):• Urban streams are affected by multiple stressorsAnalyses of how urban-related changes in stream hydrology, habitat, and chemistry relate to the species composition of biological communities indicate that no single environmental factor was universally important across all the study areas in explaining the effects of urban development on stream ecosystems. Even within a single study area, the three biological communities that were surveyed-algal, invertebrate, and fish-had different responses to urban development and changing environmental factors.• Response of stream biota to urban development varied across the country-Stream ecosys...

Computerized information processing is profoundly altering, even revolutionizing, the potential for planning and decision support resulting in greatly increased demand for professionals with the knowledge and skills to use this new technology, especially its expression in geographic information systems (GIS). Drawing upon the authors' experience in teaching GIS to planners, this article proposes a strategy for staffing the planning side of the GIS revolution. It speculates about reasons for lag in introducing GIS in planning schools, describes the potential for use of GIS tools in planning, and presents a case study of the introduction of GIS into the curriculum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Analyses of how changes in stream hydrology, habitat, and chemistry relate to the species composition of biological communities indicate that no single environmental factor was universally important across all the study areas in explaining the effects of urban development on stream ecosystems. Even within a single study area, the three biological communities that were surveyed-algal, invertebrate, and fish-had different responses to urban development and changing environ mental factors. The algal, invertebrate, and fish communities have different life cycles and requirements for food, shelter, and reproduction; consequently, their responses typically vary with stressors that arise from urban-related changes in physical and chemical factors. Different responses among the three communities, however, can provide important clues about the types of stressors that occur with urban development, which then can be linked to management actions that may be appropriate for improving stream conditions.

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