6. Isle of Wight Bay - The Coastal Bays Program

More documents

Recommendations

Info

shifting sandspollution, and silting of canal mouths andends. The question of who is responsiblefor maintaining the canals is ambiguous.Most canals are stabilized withbulkheading (vertical walls that deflectall wave action and cause scouringof the canal bottom). Scouring canundermine the bulkhead and exacerbateerosion. Furthermore, bulkheading washistorically made with treated lumbercontaining toxic chemicals, includingcopper, chromium, and arsenic. A study ofMaryland and Delaware bays found thatsome bay sediments were contaminatedwith metals (arsensic, copper, nickel,zinc), pesticides (chlordane, dieldrin, DDT[dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane]), andother chemicals (PCBs [polychlorinatedbiphenyls], PAHs [polycyclic aromatichydrocarbons]).3 The most severecontamination was found in areas withboating activity (such as marinas, whereboat paints and sacrificial anodes on boatsand crab pots are sources of pollution) andintense urbanization (bulkheads, auto-partwear, stormwater runoff, and atmosphericinputs). This same study found that morethan 55% of the area in dead-end canalshad bottom dissolved oxygen less than thestate standard of 5 mg L-1. Thirty percent ofthe dead-end canal area had concentrationsof less than 2 mg L-1. Low oxygen stressesorganisms. When researchers examinedthe canals for marine life they found that78% had only two organisms—pollutiontolerantworms and algae.Although ecological conditionswithin the canals are degraded, theyeffectively function as an unintentionalbest management practice by preventingrelease of pollutants into the CoastalBays themselves. Accordingly, correctingproblems within the canals wouldrequire the tradeoff that these materialswould be exported into the bays. Therecommendations below only addressimprovement of conditions withinthe canals, not how to limit impactof pollutants within the canals on theCoastal Bays.Jane ThomasFenwick Island contains many dead-end canal developments.104
Chapter 6 • isle of wight bayPolicy recommendations• Determine who has jurisdiction and maintenanceresponsibilities for canals and non-federal channels.How often should maintenance be conducted?• Investigate the feasibility of a Navigation andDredging tax district.• Investigate the feasibility of replacing oldbulkheading using soft shoreline stabilizationtechniques.• Provide best management practices for dredgingand maintaining canals. Discourage the practice ofspot-dredging holes for boat docks and boat lifts.These holes in shallower canals cause water qualityproblems.• Fill canal depressions with dredge material to meancanal depth. Maintain a depth and slope to meetnatural bay conditions. Remove sediment sills fromthe mouths of the canals to improve flushing andwater quality.• Direct roof and road stormwater runoff awayfrom canals. Many canal-front homes have burieddownspout pipes that discharge roof-top rainwaterdirectly into the adjacent canal. These pipes shouldbe disconnected to allow water to soak into theground or be diverted to small rain gardens wherethe water can be absorbed by plants and shrubs.• Determine if dredge material is suitable for wetland/island creation projects.• Increase public education and involvement bymaking homeowners and associations aware of theimpact of their practices on water quality. Engagethem in seeking solutions and remediation practices.• Explore pollution prevention methods, particularlyin dead-end canals in residential areas.isle of wight bayNavigation & dredging activitiesshould be coordinatedResponsibility for navigation and dredging in theCoastal Bays is shared by several federal, state, and localagencies as well as private communities, businesses, andindividuals. The lack of overall planning and coordinationin the past contributed to a variety of problems, includingpublic confusion about these issues, inadequateenvironmental safeguards, failure to make full beneficialuse of dredged material, and non-standard channelmaintenance and marking. Locally based planning,coordination, and vision was needed to enhance theCondominiums and amusement parks are a typical Isle of Wight Bay vista.Jane Thomas105
Page 2 and 3: shifting sandsConclusionsThe ecosys
Page 6 and 7: shifting sandsmanagement of navigat
Page 8 and 9: shifting sandsBays & Watershed and
Page 10 and 11: shifting sandsrecommendations alrea
Page 12 and 13: shifting sandsof older areas in acc
Page 14 and 15: shifting sandsproperty slope, groun
Page 16: shifting sandsAcknowledgementsThe a

6. Isle of Wight Bay - The Coastal Bays Program

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?