Upstream Solutions to Downstream Problems: Investing in Rural Natural Infrastructure for Water Quality Improvement and Flood Risk Mitigation

Abstract

Communities across the globe are experiencing degraded water quality as well as inland flooding, and these problems are anticipated to worsen with climate change. We review the evidence that implementing natural infrastructure in upstream agricultural landscapes could improve water quality and reduce flood risk for downstream communities. Based on our analysis, we identify a suite of natural infrastructure measures that provide the greatest benefits, and which could be prioritized for investment by downstream communities and regional leadership, with an emphasis on systems that minimize loss of productive agricultural land. Our results suggest that the restoration of wetlands and floodplains are likely to provide the greatest benefits for both water quality improvement and flood risk reduction.

Slowing Down Quick Runoff—A New Approach for the Delineation and Assessment of Critical Points, Contributing Areas, and Proposals of Measures to Reduce Non-Point Water Pollution from Agricultural Land

“…In numerous cases, and especially in practice, runoff reduction interventions and water quality improvement measures are separately propounded or adopted solely for the selected individual measures [35][36][37][38][39]. Nevertheless, several complex approaches have been documented in the literature [40][41][42][43][44]. A comprehensive method utilized for identifying priority areas on a large scale, including agricultural drainage, was presented in a study conducted by [41], which assessed runoff and nitrate leaching processes using the SWAT model and GIS tools in risky areas, and accordingly positioned and evaluated seven types of structural measures in the study.…”

Nature‐based solutions enhance sediment and nutrient storage in an agricultural lowland catchment

“…In recent years there has been an increased interest in nature‐based solutions (NBS) and natural infrastructure to mitigate environmental problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and hydrometeorological hazards in a more integrated way (Seddon et al, 2020; Suttles et al, 2021). One such approach being adopted in the United Kingdom and across Europe is natural flood management (NFM), which aims to work with hydrological processes to slow and store water in the landscape to deliver multiple environmental and societal benefits (Lane, 2017).…”

Landscape pollution source dynamics highlight priority locations for basin-scale interventions to protect water quality under extreme events

“…Most current water distribution and treatment infrastructure, sewage, and stormwater management systems in the U.S. were designed using event intensity, duration, frequency information that did not consider climate and land use change (Wright et al, 2019). For rural areas, hardened infrastructure solutions may be less desirable given the high costs of engineering and design, permitting, implementation over large land areas, and long-term maintenance (Alves et al, 2018;Browder et al, 2019;Hovis et al, 2021;Suttles et al, 2021).…”

“…Nature-based solutions, such as wetland and forest conservation, restoration, agricultural field measures, and managed retreat can play an important role for improving the resilience of watersheds to extreme events (Antolini et al, 2020;Johnson et al, 2020;Keesstra et al, 2018;Suttles et al, 2021). These solutions may not only be less costly and faster to implement than hardened infrastructure solutions, but also may provide additional co-benefits for improved access to greenspace and recreation, opportunities for improving economies, as well as benefits for fish and wildlife habitat and biodiversity (A.M. Bassi et al, 2021;Chausson et al, 2020;DeLong et al, 2021;Keesstra et al, 2018).…”

“…These solutions may not only be less costly and faster to implement than hardened infrastructure solutions, but also may provide additional co-benefits for improved access to greenspace and recreation, opportunities for improving economies, as well as benefits for fish and wildlife habitat and biodiversity (A.M. Bassi et al, 2021;Chausson et al, 2020;DeLong et al, 2021;Keesstra et al, 2018). Among nature-based solutions, floodplain restoration is expected to have the greatest benefits for both water quality and flood-risk reduction (Suttles et al, 2021).…”