WATERSHED PLANNING FOR URBANIZATION TO AVOID UNDESIRABLE STREAM OUTCOMES

Watershed planning is presented as an advanced approach to development. It is imperative that the impacts of urban development on water resources be set in the context of integrating human activity into landscape form and ecological function. Preliminary results from the Urbanization Issues group of the Ecoresearch project are presented. The three areas of focus are: unintended outcomes of channel changes, the influence of off-floodplain development on non-point source surface water pollution, and innovation in the development process. Our studies were conducted in relation to proposed development in the headwaters of Laurel Creek. Virtually all Laurel Creek through the developed portion of Waterloo has had channel modifications. This led to many undesirable outcomes which were unexpected, or whose importance were not appreciated until later stages of development. Development in the watershed beyond the floodplain can also have significant adverse impacts on stream quality. These impacts may be especially...