Is Impervious Cover Still Important? Review of Recent Research
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 14, Issue 4
Abstract
The impervious cover model (ICM) has attracted considerable attention in recent years, with nearly 250 research studies testing its basic hypothesis that the behavior of urban stream indicators can be predicted on the basis of the percent impervious cover in their contributing subwatershed. The writers conducted a meta-analysis of 65 new research studies that bear on the ICM to determine the degree to which they met the assumptions of the ICM and supported or did not support its primary predictions. Results show that the majority of research published since 2003 has confirmed or reinforced the basic premise of the ICM, but has also revealed important caveats and limitations to its application. A reformulated conceptual impervious cover model is presented in this paper that is strengthened to reflect the most recent science and simplify it for watershed managers and policy makers. A future challenge is to test the hypothesis that widespread application of multiple management practices at the catchment level can improve the urban stream degradation gradient that has been repeatedly observed by researchers across the country.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Alberti, M., et al. (2006). “The impact of urban patterns on aquatic ecosystems: An empirical analysis in Puget lowland sub-basins.” Landsc. Urban Plann., 80(4), 345–361.
Beach, D. (2002.) “Coastal sprawl. The effects of urban design on aquatic ecosystems in the United States.” Pew Oceans Commission, Arlington, Va.
Bellucci, C. (2007.) “Stormwater and aquatic life: Making the connection between impervious cover and aquatic life impairments for TMDL development in Connecticut streams.” Proc., TMDL 2007, 1003–1018.
Bilkovic, D. M., Roggero, M., Hershner, C. H., and Havens, K. H. (2006.) “Influence of land use on macrobenthic communities in nearshore estuarine habitats.” Estuaries and Coasts, 29(6B), 1185–1195.
Cappiella, K., and Brown, K. (2001). Impervious cover and land use in the Chesapeake Bay, Center for Watershed Protection, Ellicott City, Md.
Center for Watershed Protection (CWP). (1998). Rapid watershed planning handbook, CWP, Ellicott City, Md.
Center for Watershed Protection (CWP). (2003). Impacts of impervious cover on aquatic systems, CWP, Ellicott City, Md.
Cianfrani, C. M., Hession, W. C., and Rizzo, D. M. (2006). “Watershed imperviousness impacts on stream channel condition in southeastern Pennsylvania.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc., 42(4), 941–956.
Coleman, D., MacRae, C., and Stein, E. (2005). “Effects of increases in peak flows and imperviousness on the morphology of southern California streams.” Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, Costa Mesa, Calif.
Coles, J., Cuffney, T., McMahon, G., and Beaulieu, K. (2004). The effects of urbanization on the biological, physical and chemical characteristics of coastal New England streams, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver.
Comeleo, R. L., et al. (1996). “Relationships between watershed stressors and sediment contamination in Chesapeake Bay estuaries.” Landscape Ecol., 11(5), 307–319.
Cuffney, T. F., Zappia, H., Giddings, E. M. P., and Coles, J. F. (2005). “Effects of urbanization on benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in contrasting environmental settings: Boston, Massachusetts, Birmingham, Alabama, and Salt Lake City, Utah.” Proc., Symp. 47: Effects of Urbanization on Stream Ecosystems, 361–407.
Deacon, J., Soule, S., and Smith, T. (2005). Effects of urbanization on stream quality at selected sites in the seacoast region in New Hampshire, 2001–2003, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver.
Elvidge, C. D., et al. (2004). “U. S. constructed area approaches the size of Ohio.” EOS (Wash. D.C.), 85(24), 233–240.
Exum, L. R., Bird, S. L., Harrison, J., and Perkins, C. A. (2006). “Estimating and projecting impervious cover in the southeastern United States.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Athens, Ga.
Fitzpatrick, F. A., Diebel, M. W., Harris, M. A., Arnold, T. L., Lutz, M. A., and Richards, K. D. (2005). “Effect of urbanization on the geomorphology, habitat, hydrology, and fish index of biological integrity of streams in the Chicago area, Illinois, and Wisconsin.” Proc., Symp. 47: Effects of Urbanization on Stream Ecosystems, 87–115.
Goetz, S., Wright, R., Smith, A., Zinecker, E., and Schaub, E. (2003). “IKONOS imagery for resource management: Tree cover, impervious surfaces, and riparian buffer analyses in the mid-Atlantic region.” Remote Sens. Environ., 88, 195–208.
Hale, S. S., Paul, J. F., and Heltshe, J. F. (2004). “Watershed landscape indicators of estuarine benthic condition.” Estuaries, 27(2), 283–295.
Holland, F., et al. (2004). “Linkages between tidal creek ecosystems and the landscape and demographic attributes of their watersheds.” J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 298(2), 151–178.
Jantz, P., Goetz, S., and Jantz, C. (2005). “Urbanization and the loss of resource lands in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.” Environ. Manage. (N.Y.), 36(6), 808–825.
King, R. S., et al. (2005). “Spatial considerations for linking watershed land cover to ecological indicators in streams.” Ecol. Appl., 15(1), 137–153.
King, R. S., Beaman, J. R., Whigham, D. F., Hines, A. H., Baker, M. E., and Weller, D. E. (2004). “Watershed land use is strongly lined to PCBs in white perch in Chesapeake Bay subestuaries.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 38(24), 6546–6552.
Kratzer, E., et al. (2006). “Macroinvertebrate distribution in relation to land use and water chemistry in New York City drinking-water-supply watersheds.” J. North Am. Benthol. Soc., 25(4), 954–976.
Mallin, M. A., Parsons, D. C., Johnson, V. L., McIver, M. R., and CoVan, H. A. (2004). “Nutrient limitation and algal blooms in urbanizing tidal creeks.” J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 298(2), 211–231.
McBride, M., and Booth, D. B. (2005). “Urban impacts on physical stream condition: Effects on spatial scale, connectivity, and longitudinal trends.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc., 41(3), 565–580.
Meador, M. R., Coles, J. F., and Zappia, H. (2005). “Fish assemblage responses to urban intensity gradients in contrasting metropolitan areas: Birmingham, Alabama, and Boston, Massachusetts.” Proc., Symposium 47: Effects of Urbanization on Stream Ecosystems, 409–423.
Miltner, R. J., White, D., and Yoder, C. (2004). “The biotic integrity of streams in urban and suburbanized landscapes.” Landsc. Urban Plann., 69(1), 87–100.
Minnesota Stormwater Steering Committee (MSSC). (2005). Minnesota stormwater manual, MSSC.
Moore, A. A., and Palmer, M. A. (2005). “Invertebrate diversity in agricultural and urban headwater streams.” Ecol. Appl., 15(4), 1169–1177.
Morgan, R. P., and Cushman, S. F. (2005). “Urbanization effects on stream fish assemblages in Maryland, USA.” J. North Am. Benthol. Soc., 24(3), 643–655.
Ourso, R., and Frenzel, A. (2003). “Identification of linear and threshold responses in streams along a gradient of urbanization in Anchorage, Alaska.” Hydrobiologia, 501, 117–131.
Parikh, P., Taylor, M., Hoagland, T., Thurston, H., and Shuster, W. (2005). “Application of market mechanisms and incentives to reduce stormwater runoff: An integrated hydrologic, economic and legal approach.” Environ. Sci., and Pol., 8(2), 133–144.
Paul, J. F., Comeleo, R. L., and Copeland, J. (2002). “Landscape metrics and estuarine sediment contamination in the mid-Atlantic and southern New England regions.” J. Environ. Qual., 31, 836–845.
Pitt, R., Maestre, A., and Morquecho, R. (2004). “National stormwater quality database. Ver. 1.1.” ⟨http://rpitt.eng.ua.edu/Research/ms4/Paper/Mainms4paper.html⟩ (Jan. 28, 2008).
Poff, N., Bledsoe, B., and Cuhaciyan, C. (2006). “Hydrologic variation with land use across the contiguous U.S.: Geomorphic and ecological consequences for stream ecosystems.” Geomorphology, 79(3–4), 264–285.
Potapova, M., Coles, J. F., Giddings, E. M., and Zappia, H. (2005). “A comparison of the influences of urbanization on stream benthic algal assemblages in contrasting environmental settings.” Proc., Symp. 47: Effects of Urbanization on Stream Ecosystems, 333–359.
Riley, S., et al. (2005). “Effects of urbanization on the distribution and abundance of amphibians and invasive species in southern California streams.” Conserv. Biol., 19(6), 1894–1907.
Roy, A., Faust, C., Freeman, M., and Meyer, J. (2005). “Reach-scale effects of riparian forest cover on urban stream ecosystems.” Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 62, 2312–2329.
Roy, A., Freeman, B., and Freeman, M. (2006a). “Riparian influences on stream fish assemblage structure on urbanizing streams.” Landscape Ecol., 22(3), 385–402.
Roy, A., Freeman, M., Freeman, B., Wenger, S., Meyer, J., and Ensign, W. (2006b). “Importance of riparian forests in urban catchments contingent on sediment and hydrologic regimes.” Environ. Manage. (N.Y.), 37(4), 523–539.
Schiff, R., and Benoit, G. (2007). “Effects of impervious cover at multiple spatial scales on coastal watershed streams.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc., 43(3), 712–730.
Schoonover, J. E., and Lockaby, B. G. (2006). “Land cover on streams, nutrients and fecal coliform in the lower Piedmont of West Georgia.” J. Hydrol., 331(3–4), 371–382.
Schueler, T. (1994). “The importance of imperviousness.” Watershed Protection Techniques, 1(3), 100–111.
Schueler, T. R. (2004). An integrated framework to restore small urban watersheds, Center for Watershed Protection, Ellicott City, Md.
Shuster, W. D., Bonta, J., Thurston, H., Warnemuende, E., and Smith, D. R. (2005). “Impacts of impervious surface on watershed hydrology: A review.” Urban Water, 2(4), 263–275.
Short, T. M., Giddings, E. M. P., Zappia, H., and Coles, J. F. (2005). “Urbanization effects on habitat characteristics of streams in Boston, Massachusetts, Birmingham, Alabama, and Salt Lake City, Utah.” Proc., Symposium 47: Effects of Urbanization on Stream Ecosystems, 317–332.
Slonecker, E., and Tilley, J. (2004). “An evaluation of the individual components and accuracies associated with the determination of impervious surfaces.” GIScience and Remote Sensing, 41(2), 165–184.
Snyder, C. D., Young, J. A., Villela, R., and Lemarie, D. P. (2003). “Influences of upland and riparian land use on stream biotic integrity.” Landscape Ecol., 18(7), 647–664.
Sprague, L., Zueling, R., and. Dupree, J. (2006). Effect of urban development on stream ecosystems along the front range of the Rocky Mountains, Colorado and Wyoming, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver.
Sprague, L. A., Harned, D. A., Hall, D. W., Nowell, L. H., Bauch, N. J., and Richards, K. D. (2007). Response of stream chemistry during base flow to gradients of urbanization in selected locations across the conterminous United States, 2002–2004, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver.
Walsh, C., Sharpe, A., Breen, P., and Sonneman, J. (2001). “Effects of urbanization on streams of the Melbourne region, Victoria, Australia. I: Benthic macroinvertebrate communities.” Freshwater Biol., 46(4), 535–551.
Walsh, C., Waller, K., Gehling, J., and MacNally, R. (2007). “Riverine invertebrate assemblages are degraded more by catchment urbanization than riparian deforestation.” Freshwater Biol., 52(3), 574–587.
Walsh, C. J. (2004). “Protection of in-stream biota from urban impacts: Minimize catchment imperviousness or improve drainage design?” Mar. Freshwater Res., 55(3), 317–326.
Walters, D. M., Leigh, D. S., Freeman, M. C., Freeman, B. J., and Pringle, C. M. (2003). “Geomorphology and fish assemblages in a Piedmont River basin, USA.” Freshwater Biol., 48(11), 1950–1970.
Wang, L., Lyons, J., Rasmussen, P., Simons, P., Wiley, T., and Stewart, P. (2003). “Watershed, reach, and riparian influences on stream fish assemblages in the Northern Lakes and forest ecoregion.” Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 60(5), 491–505.
Xian, G., Crane, M., and Su, J. (2007). “An analysis of urban development and its environmental impact on the Tampa Bay watershed.” J. Environ. Manage., 85(4), 965–976.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 14 • Issue 4 • April 2009
Pages: 309 - 315
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Jan 30, 2008
Accepted: Oct 4, 2008
Published online: Apr 1, 2009
Published in print: Apr 2009
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.