Restoration Objectives or Motives: |
There are many factors that drive river restoration projects and eventually are formalized
as restoration objectives. Objectives are typically formulated in response to
identified problems.
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Aesthetic:
A restoration projects intended to improve the visual appeal
of the landscape.
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Flood Control:
Flood control or defense is a very common objective of river management.
In the context of river restoration, peak flood stages are to be minimized
and flood waves attenuated.
Flood control objectives are typically sought along urban or agricultural
corridors, where economic impacts of floods are quite high.
river corridors.
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General Ecosystem Habitat:
Projects intended to provide improved quality and/or increased quantity
of physical habitat for a variety of species at different lifestages. Ecosystem
habitat objectives
often emphasize the importance of biodiversity and hence a heterogeneity
of habitats.
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Habitat for a Single or Specific Target Species:
Projects intended to provide improved quality and/or increased quantity
of physical habitat for a single or few species, perhaps at specific lifestages.
Target species
are typically identified for which habitat is limiting.
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Mitigation for Other Impacts:
Mitigation projects often arise from regulatory requirements that are
intended to offset known impacts. The two most common examples are new
developments and point source
pollution outlets. In the case of new developments, a portion of the
river system may be directly modified or removed; and mitigation would
somehow compensate for the loss or impact.
In the case of pollution outlets, known discharges of hazardous materials
have to be accounted for.
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Property or Structural Protection:
This is a very common objective of river management activities that involves the “repair
” and/or “improvement” of a river to protect man-made structures (e.g. bridge
footings, walls, fences, roads, buildings) and/or property (i.e. actively eroding river bank).
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Sediment Management:
Any river which is actively managed to account for perceived imbalances
in the sediment budget may fall under this heading. Common examples include
a) erosion control management
practices applied throughout the basin to account for excessive fine-grained
sediment loads; b) gravel traps and or grade control structures to account
for excessive coarse-grained sediment
loads.
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Water Quality:
The improvement of water quality can mean either treatment (e.g. constructed wetlands,
treatment plant) or through the elmination of pollution sources (either "point" or "non-ponint" sources
of pollution).
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Reference(s):
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