Objective: Establish, improve, and maintain appropriate sediment flows
(Sediment flow summary information is from Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership's Southeast Aquatic Habitat Plan )
In a watershed, some sediment is carried in suspension by flowing water from inland to coastal waters, while some is deposited on banks and channel beds, supporting and sustaining aquatic habitats and their ecological systems. Sediment can positively and negatively affect the size and health of wetlands, rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs, and coastal areas. Increased sediment can raise costs of water purification and navigation channel maintenance as well as damage fisheries and aquatic habitat. It can also build or renew wetlands, banks and benthic areas. Sediment transport varies because of factors such as soil particle type and local geology, precipitation and runoff as well as barriers to flow due to channelization, roadways, dams and land-use-induced erosion. The challenge is to maintain or improve the balance of sediment flow within aquatic systems in a manner that sustains water resources and maintains or improves the health of the habitats and their populations of fish and other aquatic organisms. This multifaceted challenge includes the need to a) maintain or improve the balance of sediment transfer to support the waterbody’s structure, habitats and their associated communities, and b) ensure sufficient sediment supply to nurture adjacent wetlands and coastal marshes, and offset subsidence and sea level rise while sustaining water resources for human use.
Important conservation benefits to maintaining appropriate sediment flows:
- Fish and wildlife habitat
- Breeding and nursery sites are maintained
- Improved water quality