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The nation's aquatic resources are among its most valuable assets. Although environmental protection programs in the United States have successfully improved water quality during the past 30 years, many challenges remain. Significant strides have been made in reducing the impacts of discrete pollutant sources, but aquatic ecosystems remain impaired, primarily because of complex pollution problems caused by nonpoint source (NPS) pollution. This guidance document describes practices to reduce NPS pollution of surface waters and ground water through the protection and restoration of wetlands and riparian areas, as well as the implementation of vegetated treatment systems. The guidance provides background information about NPS pollution, including where it comes from and how it enters the nation's waters; discusses the broad concept of assessing and addressing water quality problems on a watershed level; and presents recent technical information about how certain types of NPS pollution can be reduced effectively through the implementation of these management measures.
The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires that wetlands be protected from degradation because of their important ecological functions including maintenance of high water quality and provision of fish and wildlife habitat. However, this protection generally does not encompass riparian areasâ€"the lands bordering rivers and lakesâ€"even though they often provide the same functions as wetlands. Growing recognition of the similarities in wetland and riparian area functioning and the differences in their legal protection led the NRC in 1999 to undertake a study of riparian areas, which has culminated in Riparian Areas: Functioning and Strategies for Management. The report is intended to heighten awareness of riparian areas commensurate with their ecological and societal values. The primary conclusion is that, because riparian areas perform a disproportionate number of biological and physical functions on a unit area basis, restoration of riparian functions along America's waterbodies should be a national goal.