NAVIGATION &
NOURISHMENT

Concurrent with environmental laws and beneficial use incentives has come expanded understanding of coastal processes and systems. Consequently, the potential value of beach nourishment using dredged material is now recognized in policy and practice.

Beach nourishment is consistent with coastal processes. Coastal features such as beaches, bays, and inlets are formed by the interaction of waves, currents, and wind with coastal sediments. Unlike structural navigation and shore protection features which combat or disturb coastal processes, beach nourishment augments the natural transport of littoral sediments. Unlike disposal in the deep ocean or diked areas, the use of dredged material for beach nourishment keeps it in the littoral system. Because of the improved understanding of littoral processes, the deposition of sandy material in the littoral zone and the onshore placement of beach fill are both accepted as nourishment techniques.

Available data indicate that the environmental impacts of depositing dredged material on beaches or in the littoral zone are minimal. The biota associated with these habitats are highly adapted to environmental stress and, as such, quickly recover from periodic beach nourishment efforts.

In Section 111 of the River and Harbor Act of 1968, Congress addressed the interactions of coastal processes and sediments. Section 111 authorizes the Corps of Engineers to mitigate, at total Federal expense, the erosion effects on downdrift beaches of Federal navigation projects which interrupt the transport of littoral sediment by wave action. Mitigation frequently involves dredging the material trapped in or updrift of the navigation project and using the material for beach nourishment.

In the early 1970s the Corps, in cooperation with nonFederal sponsors, experimented with the use of dredged material for beach nourishment at Jackonsville, Florida, and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

In an average year between 1973 and 1977, the Corps dredged 128 million cubic yards of material in maintenance operations on the seacoasts and Great Lakes shorelines. As

shown in Table 1, 10.5 million cubic yards (8.2 percent) of that material was used for beach nourishment.

In the 1976 Water Resources Development Act, Congress for the first time explicitly recognized the potential for beach nourishment using material dredged from navigation projects. Section 145 of the act provided:

"The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, is authorized upon request of the State, to place on the beaches of such State beach-quality sand which has been dredged in constructing and maintaining navigation inlets and channels adjacent to such beaches, if the Secretary deems such action to be in the public interest and upon payment of the increased cost thereof above the cost required for alternative methods of disposing of such sand."

OPPORTUNITIES

& CONSTRAINTS

By 1981 dredged material from Corps of Engineers navigation projects had been used for beach nourishment purposes at over 80 sites. Most of the nourishment operations involved the use on public beaches of material from maintenance dredging. In addition, dredged material is used at authorized Federal beach erosion control projects at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and East Rockaway Inlet, New York. At Little River Inlet, South Carolina, material from emergency dredging is deposited on nearby beaches. In the Detroit District of the Corps at least seven erosion mitigation projects under Section 111 involve the use of dredged material for beach nourishment.

In 1981 a survey by the U.S. Army Engineer Institute for Water Resources investigated existing and planned navigation projects on the seacoasts and Great Lakes shorelines for which dredging was planned, initiated, or resumed after 1977. The survey found that dredged material from 25 percent of these navigation projects is used for nourishment purposes. Among the combined navigation dredging-beach nourishment operations identified, on-land nourishment and deposition of material in the littoral zone are used equally frequently. For five out of every six such combined dredging and nourishment opera

tions, beach nourishment is the least-cost environmentally acceptable disposal alternative, and there is no incremental cost requiring financing by entities other than the Corps. Twothirds of such combined operations are located in the engineer districts of Jacksonville, Mobile, Los Angeles, and Detroit.

Despite its prevalence, beach nourishment cannot be considered a panacea for dredged material disposal ills. For three out of every four navigation projects the dredged material is not a practical, cost-effective, and permissible source for beach nourishment. Most frequently, the material is too fine-grained to be effective for shore protection. Other constraints are excessive cost, impermissible environmental effects, and technical limitations.

The following listing shows the approximate distribution of decisive constraints:

• 34% Grain size of the dredged material (e.g. mud, clay, silt, rock) is inappropriate for beach nourishment.

10% Mobilization, material transport, piping and/or demobilization costs are excessive.

8% Water quality, turbidity, and fish and wildlife impacts are unacceptable under Federal standards.

6% Technical limitations. These include shore features and uses which are unsuited for nourishment, the existence of preferable source of material, wave or current conditions that are hazardous to equipment, and anticipated adverse effects on navigation and water uses.

5% Nourishment is not needed or is of little benefit. • 4% Project-specific institutional constraints prevent

nourishment.

3% A suitable dredge and/or suitable equipment are unavailable.

• 3% The non-Federal project sponsor prefers another beneficial use for the dredged material.

• 2% State law prohibits beach nourishment acceptable under Federal standards.

• 75% Total: use of dredged material from navigation projects is impractical, not cost-effective, and/or impermissible. Opportunities to expand the use of dredged material for beach nourishment are limited. Problems of equipment availability may abate over time, and some project-specific institutional constraints can be remedied by better coordination between the Corps and non-Federal interests. Further improvements would require changes in law or technology.

FROM PROBLEM

TO RESOURCE

Under the proper circumstances the use of dredged material for beach nourishment not only contributes to the development and maintenance of waterway transportation but also provides hazard reduction and recreational benefits consistent with environmental mandates and the material laws governing coastal systems. Reinforced by Congressional enactments between 1956 and 1976 relating to beach nourishment, environmental protection, and the beneficial use of dredged material, the Corps of Engineers has learned to capitalize on suitable opportunities to nourish beaches with dredged material. For perhaps one in every four Corps' dredging projects on the seacoasts and the Great Lakes, involving over 10 million cubic yards of dredged material each year, a potential problem can be a

resource.

Interior Secretary James Watt has announced steps to implement a system to produce an annual national water summary that will make water resources information more readily available and useful to policy makers and managers at local, state, and national levels.

"Nothing can be more basic than water resources in planning the future growth and health of our nation," Watt said, "yet past assessments of the adequacy of our nation's water resources have been too infrequent and too complex to be generally helpful to decision makers. Water resources policy makers and managers at all levels of government need information about water availability, quantity and quality, and the problems associated with the use of our vital water resources.

"In keeping with administration policy that the responsibility for water resources management rests with the states, the Interior Department has an important role in providing state and local agencies with current, accurate evaluations of water conditions and critical water problems," Watt said.

To accomplish this goal, the Secretary has directed Interior's U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Office of Water Policy (OWP) to take the following steps:

• The USGS will prepare annual national water summary reports targeted for initial publication in October 1983. The initial report will summarize national water conditions, and subsequent annual reports will focus on selected water problems. The OWP will coordinate with state and local decision makers to ensure that the information pre

sented in the reports is responsive to the users' needs.

• The USGS will develop a water resources information system that will contain summary data about the nation's water resources. The new information system will be used in conjunction with existing water data bases to retrieve, analyze, and display information about water resources conditions and to track changes over time. The OWP will coordinate responses and suggested improvements to the system from policy makers and managers. ⚫ Using data supplied by the USGS and other agencies in the public and private sector, OWP will work with state officials to identify critical water problems. The Interior Department will then respond to specific local needs and requests and develop programs to provide needed assistance.

"I am directing the Office of Water Policy to seek comments from agencies and groups at the national, state, and local level about the criteria, format, and goals of subsequent annual reports," Watt said. "We will also work closely with state and local agencies in the development and implementation of the information system, because they will continue to be the people most involved in water resource development and management.

"At the same time, I am directing the USGS to begin working immediately with OWP to put together a demonstration of the potential of the new water resource information system," Watt said. "I expect by midsummer that they will be able to develop a test case and demonstrate with tabular, graphic, and map dis

plays how the system can be applied to the analysis of water resources information.

"This new system should eventually have widespread application in the preparation of water assessments and studies by other agencies and will markedly enhance many of the hydrologic programs of the USGS, including the preparation of the annual national water summary.

"Because development of the information system and preparation of later assessments will also require the talents and cooperation of many offices and individuals, I have asked for the full support of all Interior Department bureaus and offices in making this critical assessment of water conditions viable and effective," Watt said.

As the nation's largest water resources data collection agency, the USGS currently monitors the quantity and quality of the nation's water resources at about 44,000 sites in cooperation with more than 800 Federal, state, and local agencies and conducts hundreds of water resources studies annually. The USGS also maintains an index to existing water resources information gathered by 400 other agencies and serves as the lead agency in coordinating the water data acquisition activities of all Federal agencies.

NATION USING MORE

THAN 450 BILLION GALLONS

OF WATER A DAY

As of 1980, the United States was withdrawing a record high total of 450 billion gallons of water a day from surface and groundwater sources to meet the needs of public supply, industry, irrigation, rural, and commercial users. This amounts to an average of about 2000 gallons per person per day, according to a recently published report of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Department of the Interior.

The latest USGS summary of the nation's water-use patternsthe seventh in a series of reports compiled every five years since 1950 notes that the nation's total water use has more than doubled in the last 30 years. The report emphasizes, however, that although the nation is now using more water on a daily basis, the rate of increase in water use was only eight percent during the 1975-1980 period compared to a 12 percent increase during 1970-1975.

According to Wayne B. Solley, hydrologist at the USGS National Center, Reston, Va., and senior author of the report, "It is difficult to pinpoint the exact causes for the slowdown in the rate of increase of national water use.

"The slowdown probably reflects a combination of factors, including the decline in the economy, regional droughts that restricted water use, more prevalent reuse of water and perhaps the improvements in the accuracy of our water-use estimates,' Solley said. "Despite the slowdown, we can be rather certain that overall water use will continue to increase in future years and even at a reduced rate will require careful management and continuing reappraisal of available resources."

Solley said that improvement in the accuracy of summary data results from a huge increase in the amount of data collected at thousands of locations across the country, an improved technical capability to make more detailed evaluations of existing water data, and the increased participation of individual states aiding in developing the national water-use information program that began in 1977.

The USGS report reveals that:

• Although the average use of freshwater in the U.S. is about 1600 gallons per capita per day, the use varies greatly from state to state, ranging from a high of 19,000 gallons per capita per day in Idaho to a low of 180 gallons per capita per day in Rhode Island. High per capita values are characteristic of thinly populated states having large acreages of irrigated land.

California withdrew more water than any other state— about 54 bgd (billion gallons per day), or more than twice as much as either Florida or Texas, the next largest users. Four states-California, Florida, Texas, and Idahowithdrew 25 percent of the water used in the United States.

• The total quantity of freshwater consumed—that is, water made unavailable through such processes as evaporation and transpiration or incorporated into products or crops for subsequent possible withdrawals-averaged 100 billion gallons a day in 1980.

● More water was withdrawn for industrial uses than for any other category of off-stream use. In 1980, industry used about 260 bgd, including about 72 bgd of saline water (water containing more than 1000 milligrams per liter dissolved solids). About 83 percent of the water withdrawn for industry was used in the generation of thermoelectric power.

• Irrigation ranks second in off-stream water withdrawals in the nation-150 bgd or 170 million acre-feet per year— and is by far the greatest consumer of water (83 bgd or 93 million acre-feet per year).

The amount of water consumed by irrigation far exceeds the consumption of all other categories combined: 7.1 bgd for public supplies; 10 bgd for self-supplied industry; and 3.9 bgd, for rural uses.

• Over 90 percent of the irrigation water was withdrawn in the western United States. In contrast, almost 90 percent of the industrial water was withdrawn in the eastern United States.

Solley said, "Overall, the nation as a whole has ample supplies of water. For example, the average annual streamflow in the coterminous (48) states—one simplified measure of the total potential water supply-is about 1200 billion gallons a day, or about two and a half times our present water use. Moreover, this estimate of potential water supply does not include groundwater supplies, which are even larger.

"This apparently favorable balance of water supply nationwide, however, may bear little resemblance to the actual supplydemand situation in a local area or for specific users who face water supply shortages because of such factors as varying amounts of precipitation, quality problems, or limited ability for reuse of

water.

"Thus some regions already must cope with water shortages of varying intensities and must face continued 'deficit spending' in their water budgets: using more water each year than is naturally supplied. Our water resources, therefore, must be carefully managed, protected, and conserved to assure adequate supplies of good quality for future generations," the USGS spokesman said.

The 64-page report, containing tables, maps, and illustrations showing data by individual states and by the 21 major water resources regions of the nation, is titled "Estimated Use of

Water in the United States in 1980," and is published as USGS Circular 1001. Copies may be obtained free on request to the Branch of Distribution, U.S. Geological Survey, 604 South Pickett St., Alexandria, Va. 22304.

OPINION NARROWS

FEDERAL CONTROL OF WATER ON BLM LANDS

Interior Department Solicitor William H. Coldiron has repudiated a 1979 interpretation by a previous solicitor of a longstanding executive order which withdrew springs and waterholes on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) acreage. Coldiron's new opinion holds that the right to use the water for any purpose other than for human and animal consumption must be obtained under state law.

The effect of Coldiron's ruling is to limit Federal authority and reassert the primacy of state law in localities scattered across the rural west where the executive order, issued in 1926, is applicable.

The 1979 legal interpretation overturned by the opinion had viewed the executive (presidential) order much more broadly, asserting that it also intended to reserve water for purposes such as growing crops and for flood, soil, fire, and erosion control. The homestead laws still in existence in 1926 allowed claimants to settle and patent parcels of vacant unappropriated public domain. By acquiring title to Federal lands surrounding important springs and waterholes, claimants could gain effective control of much larger arid areas surrounding them. The executive order established a general withdrawal known as Public Water Reserve No. 107, shutting off new land claims near important springs and waterholes and reserving the water for public use.

The Colorado Supreme Court, in a recent decision, found that the intent of the executive order was to prevent monopolization of vast expanses of the public domain through control of water sources necessary for use of the surrounding public lands. The state court found, however, that there had been "no intent to reserve the entire yield of public springs and waterholes." This ran counter to the 1979 solicitor's opinion, which held that all the waters were reserved for various uses.

The new Coldiron opinion agrees that the anti-monopoly intent did not extend to total Federal control of these strategic water sources. It concludes: "The right to use water from these water sources for any other purpose (than animal and human consumption) must be obtained pursuant to state law because those other purposes do not come within the reserved water right. The entire flow or quantity of water in these reserved sources was accordingly not reserved unless necessary for the primary purposes-a fact which must be determined on a caseby-case basis."

In 1981, Coldiron overturned another section of the 1979 opinion when he held that there was no such thing as a Federal non-reserved water right. His ruling meant that Federal land managers would have to take their place in line with other water users in state proceedings to assert water rights not specifically reserved to the Federal government. The Justice Department later made this ruling applicable to all Federal agencies.

Interior lawyers emphasized that the latest Coldiron ruling is applicable only to BLM lands and will not affect water sources or stream flows in national parks or other special categories of Federal lands.

MICHIGAN SCIENTISTS USE MICROORGANISMS FOR CHEMICAL CLEANUP

A method of using microorganisms found in lake sediment and sewage sludge to break down certain toxic chemicals is being investigated by two Michigan State University scientists.

The research focuses on halogenated aromatic compounds-a chemical family that includes such environmental pollutants as PCB, PBB, and dioxin. The Environmental Protection Agency has placed dioxin at the top of the list of compounds most acutely toxic to humans.

In studies conducted by James Tiedje, MSU professor of crop and soil sciences and microbiology, and Stephen Boyd, assistant professor of crop and soil sciences, anaerobic microorganisms have successfully metabolized chlorinated phenols, widely used industrial chemicals, and halogenated benzoates, used in herbicides. For reasons not fully understood, anaerobic organisms from both sediment and sludge can remove chlorine from the aromatic ring structure of these chemical compounds, rendering them vulnerable to disintegration. This dechlorination process occurs in the absence of oxygen-in anaerobic conditions. Little work has previously been done with anaerobic microorganisms because of the difficulty of maintaining oxygen-free experimental environments.

Tiedje and Boyd are attempting to learn more about the composition of the microorganisms and the environments in which they live. Their long-term goal is to identify genetic components of the microorganisms responsible for breaking down the haloaromatic compounds and using the genetic material to create new organisms to clean up chemical wastes—a kind of science fiction scenario the scientists say could become a reality.

The MSU researchers have yet to determine whether the anaerobic biodegradation process is effective with the more complex classes of chemical compounds such as dioxin and PCB. More intense investigations will be required for these chemicals, but the work could produce tremendous benefits.

"Our research has the potential of developing a treatment method for compounds there is currently no way of treating,' Tiedje says.

WORLD CONSERVATION GROUP FORMED

Formation of a World Association of Soil and Water Conservation was announced in January.

The new association will seek to encourage the wise use and conservation of soil and water resources worldwide. Its members will include scientists, professional conservationists, and policy makers.

Initially, the association will operate under the auspices of the Soil Conservation Society of America. SCSA will maintain membership records for the association and will publish a newsletter for the group.

In addition to publishing a newsletter, the world association will seek to sponsor a biennial conference, assess soil and water conservation needs in nations throughout the world, work for the adoption of sound soil and water conservation policies, encourage research and demonstration projects on soil and water conservation problems, and work with other worldwide conservation organizations and agencies in support of mutual interests.

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U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1983-405-428