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7 Needs for Additional Research

As increasing land-use demands affect water quality in the South, additional research and activities have been identified that would enhance the effectiveness of management programs, thereby improving water quality. The overall goal for water-quality management is to "protect our water sources, including groundwater, from contamination and overuse, and commit to maintaining or continuing to restore degraded aquatic systems, riparian forests, and natural resources" (Mac and others 1998). Recommendations and additional research needs necessary to accomplish this goal are:

· Research and develop standard assessment and reporting criteria among States for the 305(b) Reports to Congress.




· Develop watershed assessment methods that consider costs and benefits of land use at large watershed and regional scales.




· Develop and integrate standardized tools for water-quality assessment, including modeling, use and interpretation of satellite imagery, and remote sensing.




· Develop methodols to identify priority natural areas for protection and restoration as part of land management planning efforts.




· Investigate whole ecosystem impacts in restoration efforts.




· Research and incorporate downstream cumulative impacts in watershed assessment and management.




· Examine the effects historical disturbances have on current water quality.




· Investigate the long-term effects of BMPs and forest harvesting activities on sediment production.




· Research urbanization effects on forest ecosystem function and structure.