An Ecosystem Approach to the Management of Sediment and Sediment Liabilities

The ecological health and economic value of rivers and estuaries depend upon a physical "infrastructure" that includes clean sediment, clean water and stable hydrology. Problems involving sediment quantity or sediment quality are typically highly complex and require consideration of the physical, biological and social systems to solve. If approached from the limited perspective of site and political boundaries and short-term economics, the engineering solutions typically are less effective, shorter-lived, more controversial, and more costly than if a broader, ecosystems-based perspective is used. This handbook presents a framework for developing ecosystems based solutions to sediment management problems.