This WERF sponsored research addresses the utility of bioassessment
for managing aquatic life uses in urban and/or urbanizing
catchments. Heavily urbanized catchments present a problem for
facilities and water quality managers struggling to balance the
socio-economic needs of urban areas with aquatic life use
standards. Most standards do not recognize the limitations on
achievable biological condition in urban areas. This research
specifically defines a process for developing alternative
biological benchmarks for aquatic life use in urban catchments.
This research was conducted across three distinct climatic regions
and describes a threestep process: 1) developing a primary
urbanization gradient, 2) assembling an appropriate urban
biological index, and 3) defining a biological potential that
describes the highest biological condition currently achieved along
the urban gradient. The primary urban gradient is developed using
simple landscape and socio-economic measures of urbanization.
Alternative urban gradients, comparable to the primary gradient,
are presented that can be used as data availability and resources
require. The primary biological indicator is developed using a
subset of commonly collected biological metrics. Lastly, biological
potential is defined using quantile regression to characterize the
upper boundary on biological condition observed along the primary
urban gradient. This approach establishes empirically defined and
realistic aquatic life use benchmarks for urbanized catchments, and
describes a process by which the aquatic life use status of
waterbodies in urbanized catchments can be placed in a realistic
context. Guidance on implementation is provided for WERF
subscribers for their particular urban areas.
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