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WATER QUALITY RESTORATION
In 2018, Natasha Whetzel helped burn 20 acres at Delaware’s Hurley Tract to restore habitat. 10 weeks later, native purple love grass had spread extensively, transforming the site into habitats for birds and pollinatorsConservation work in southern Delaware is helping restore and protect important habitats within the Nanticoke River watershed. At Middlefor...- In 1998, HHPC launched a pollution-control plan for New York's Hempstead Harbor. 13 years later, its northern segment reopened to shellfishing after being closed for more than 40 yearsThe restoration of northern Hempstead Harbor in Nassau County, New York, demonstrates how long-term cooperation and pollution-control measu...
- In 2006, Delaware listed the Broadkill watershed for nitrogen and phosphorus impairment. 18 years later, BMPs restored 7.6 miles of Ingrams Branch, ending the phosphorusThe restoration of Ingrams Branch is a powerful example of how best management practices can produce measurable improvements in water quali...
- In 1994, Idaho listed Rapid Creek for sediment impairment. 18 years later, restoration improved habitat scores and Lower Rapid Creek was removed from the 2012 impaired waters listRapid Creek in southeastern Idaho offers a compelling example of how long-term watershed restoration can transform water quality and aquati...
- In 2008, Minnesota listed Fish Lake as impaired for nutrients after severe algae blooms. 16 years later, the lake improved enough to be delisted after treatments and restorationThe 2008 impairment designation was an important step because it formally recognized that the lake was not meeting the desired water-qualit...
- In 2021, New York assessed Cannonsville Reservoir as impaired after a 7-foot culvert blocked fish passage. 2 years later, the new culvert scored 0.88 for aquatic passageA culvert replacement project in Delaware County, New York, addressed stream-flow, erosion, sediment, and fish-passage problems along an un...
- In 1996, New York flagged Upper Tonawanda Creek as a water-supply concern. 16 years later, NYSDEC removed it from the impaired list after farm BMPs improved water qualityNew York's Tonawanda Creek was once impaired by agricultural pollution. Farmers implemented best management practices to reduce soil erosio...
- In 2002, Idaho listed the South Fork Palouse River as bacteria-impaired after livestock grazing. 14 years later, restoration helped remove it from the 2016 impaired listThe South Fork Palouse River restoration began with a problem Idaho could not ignore. In 2002, the river was listed as bacteria-impaired, w...
- In 2016, NYSDEC and partners removed Shapp Pond Dam after 50 years of blocking migratory fish. 4 years later, restored habitat showed significant gains in stream health and wildlifeThe removal of the Shapp Pond Dam in Dutchess County, New York, helped restore aquatic connectivity and improve stream habitat along the Ea...
- In 2004, Iowa listed Kent Park Lake as impaired after nutrient and sediment runoff harmed clarity. 20 years later, monitoring showed it met algae and turbidity standardsKent Park Lake in Johnson County, Iowa, experienced water-quality problems linked to nutrient and sediment delivery, resulting in its place...
- In 1998, New York listed Keuka Lake as impaired after DDT contamination. 16 years later, fish-tissue data led officials to remove the lake from the impaired waters listKeuka Lake DDT cleanup shows how a pesticide banned decades ago kept affecting fish through contaminated soil and runoff. The problem began...
- In 2004, community partners began tackling Kent Park Lake's nutrient and sediment pollution. 20 years later, the lake met water quality standards and was removed from Iowa's impaired-waters list in 2024Kent Park Lake restoration took 20 years to deliver a result Iowa officials could finally recognize. The lake once struggled with nutrient ...
- In 2016, researchers restored 452 meters of Maryland's Muddy Creek with woodchips, sand and gravel. 2 years later, monitoring found suspended sediment fell 73.8%, improving stream functionMuddy Creek is a tributary of the Rhode River and flows through the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, an important site for ecolog...
- In 2022, researchers began work on a 3/4-mile Cherry Creek restoration in Pennsylvania. 4 years later, the stream has better habitat, cleaner water and healthier floodplains nowA restoration project along a three-quarter-mile section of Cherry Creek at TNC’s Blakeslee Preserve in northeastern Pennsylvania began in ...
- In 2002, Albany buried 1,500 feet of Patroon Creek underground. 18 years later, daylighting restored the stream and improved flood resilience across the project area tooAccording to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's success story, U.S. Geological Survey streamflow data showed that three of the five...
- In 2018, New York's Cortland County funded 3 culvert and stream projects. 5 years later, all 3 sites improved from severe barriers to insignificant barriers for better fish passageCortland County projects fit into a broader New York effort to identify and address barriers to aquatic organism passage. New York's Depart...
- In 2022, MIT researchers built a portable desalination unit that removed particles and salts at once, producing about 0.3 liters per hourMIT scientists created a portable device that turns seawater into safe drinking water. This compact system uses advanced processes to remov...
- Four dams built on the Klamath River between 1918 and 1966 made power, not water storage; in 2024, the last came down, reopening 420 miles of salmon habitatIn a groundbreaking initiative, four dams on the Klamath River spanning California and Oregon have been dismantled after a century of exist...
- In a multi-decade study, engineers used 12-inch coconut-fiber blankets to secure riverbanks. Years later, deep-rooted plants turned them into living barriers that resist erosion and floodsHow a 12-inch coconut fiber roll can hold a failing streambank together is easier to understand than it looks. The simple coir log slows ru...
- In 1992, Congress backed a plan to dechannelize Florida's Kissimmee River and restore its watershed. 28 years later, the project had restored 19 of 44 river miles and 6,500 acres of floodplain wetlands, with wildlife returningFlorida's Kissimmee River underwent a significant restoration after decades of channelization. This project aimed to revive its natural flo...
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