Spatial Asynchrony in Environmental and Socioeconomic Benefits of Stream Restoration
Abstract
Stream restoration has become a popular approach to mitigating the degradation of urban stream channels and reducing sediment and nutrient loadings to receiving water bodies. Additionally, introducing vegetation and stabilization methods at stream channels provides new recreational opportunities, protects infrastructures, and improves the quality of life for nearby residents. Many studies have shown how restoration helps individual streams mitigate sediment and nutrient loadings, although can be variable depending on contributing watershed conditions. However, few studies have investigated both biophysical and socioeconomic benefits to local neighborhoods of stream restoration. We conducted a survey evaluating the willingness to pay (WTP) for several stream restoration designs at the household level and estimated potential nitrate retention amounts for all stream reaches in three watersheds spanning Baltimore County and City, Maryland. We aggregated the WTP of all households within a 1-mile radius of each 1000-ft stream reach and compared biophysical and socioeconomic restoration benefits. Results show strong spatial asynchrony of social and environmental benefits of stream restoration: Stream restoration in denser urban, less wealthy neighborhoods have high socioeconomic benefits (i.e., WTP) to residents but low projected nitrate reduction, and stream restoration in suburban/exurban, wealthy neighborhoods have a reversed trend. Such asynchrony makes maximizing both socioeconomic benefits for residents and water pollutants reduction challenging. Decision-makers need to balance the socioeconomic and environmental benefits carefully for future stream restoration projects and ensure the siting of these projects considers both needs of improving life quality for residents and water quality in local streams in Baltimore.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2021
- Bibcode:
- 2021AGUFM.H25Z..11Z