Making Stream Restoration More Sustainable: A Geomorphically, Ecologically, and Socioeconomically Principled Approach to Bridge the Practice with the Science
Open accessAbstract
Despite large advances in the state of the science of stream ecology and river mechanics, the practitioner-driven field of stream restoration remains plagued by narrowly focused projects that sometimes even fail to improve aquatic habitat or geomorphic stability-two nearly universal project goals. The intent of this article is to provide an accessible framework that bridges that gap between the current state of practice and a more geomorphically robust and ecologically holistic foundation that also provides better accounting of socioeconomic factors in support of more sustainable stream restoration outcomes. It points to several more comprehensive design references and presents some simple strategies that could be used to protect against common failure mechanisms of ubiquitous design approaches (i.e., regional curves, Rosgen planform, and grade control). From the simple structure design to the watershed-scale restoration program, this may be a first step toward a more geomorphically principled, ecologically holistic, and socioeconomically sustainable field.
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Personal safety, such as safe wading access even in small streams through city parks, is an additional service that residents are likely to recognize as a tangible benefit.
“Personal safety such as safe wading access (even in small streams through city parks) is an additional service that residents are likely to recognize as a tangible benefit (Hawley 2018).”
From Phase II MS4 challenges: moving toward effective stormwater management for small municipalities (2022) · cites this paper as Hawley 2018
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Cites
Urban stream renovation: incorporating societal objectives to achieve ecological improvements
Smith, R. F., Hawley, R. J., Neale, M. W., Vietz, G. J., Diaz-Pascacio, E., Herrmann, J., Lovell, A. C., Prescott, C., Rios-Touma, B., Smith, B., et al. (2016) · Freshwater Science · doi:10.1086/685096 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
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Research works printed but not linked: 16
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- Hawley RJ. 2012 A regionally-calibrated approach to “channel protection controls”—How meeting new stormwater regulations can improve stream stability and protect urban infrastructure. Pages 997– 1011 in Jaworski L, Tam W, eds. Stormwater Symposium. Water Environment Federation.
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- Hawley RJ, Goodrich JA, Korth NL, Rust CJ, Fet EV, Frye C, MacMannis KR, Wooten MS, Sinha R 2017 Detention outlet retrofit device improves the functionality of existing detention basins by reducing erosive flows in receiving channels. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 53: 1032– 1047. PMC6171122 30294203
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- Roley SS, Tank JL, Stephen ML, Johnson LT, Beaulieu JJ, Witter JD 2012 Floodplain restoration enhances denitrification and reach-scale nitrogen removal in an agricultural stream. Ecological Applications 22: 281– 297. 22471090
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Urban Stream and Wetland Restoration in the Global South—A DPSIR Analysis
Wantzen, K., Alves, C., Badiane, S., Bala, R., Blettler, M., Callisto, M., Cao, Y., Kolb, M., Kondolf, G., Leite, M., et al. (2019) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su11184975 · Cited by 135 · see citing works
Phase II MS4 challenges: moving toward effective stormwater management for small municipalities
Rieck, L., Carson, C., Hawley, R. J., Heller, M., Paul, M., Scoggins, M., Zimmerman, M., & Smith, R. F. (2022) · Urban Ecosystems · doi:10.1007/s11252-021-01179-3 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“Personal safety such as safe wading access (even in small streams through city parks) is an additional service that residents are likely to recognize as a tangible benefit (Hawley 2018).”
BackgroundSelf-citation
- Authors
- Hawley, R. J.
- Affiliations
- The principal at Sustainable Streams, LLC, in Louisville, Kentucky. He is an experienced stream restoration designer and licensed professional engineer in several states, including active projects funded through the Fee-In-Lieu-Of (FILO) Stream Mitigation Program in Kentucky, as well as 303(d) grant-funded projects and projects with Municipal and private clients
- Corresponding author
- Hawley, Robert J
- ORCID
- Hawley, Robert J
- Venue
- BioScience
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2018-06-13
- Volume
- 68
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 517-528
- ISSN
- 0006-3568 (ISSN-L)
- 1525-3244
- PMC
- PMC6037085
- OpenAlex
- W2808140155
- Cited by
- 76
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 4
- FWCI
- 7.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- BioScience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Freshwater macroinvertebrate diversity and ecology
- Keywords
- stream restoration, geomorphic stability, aquatic habitat, restoration design, grade control, socio-economic sustainability, research-practice gap
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