Federal, State, and Local Government Activities

Public agencies at all levels of government are constantly being required to do more with less resources. As a result, most management decisions are based on judgements under crisis situations. Where adequate time and study is not afforded a project because of limited resources, the selected alternative could cost more and result in further unanticipated problems.

In the area of water resources management, numerous considerations must be taken into account in order to assure that sensitive ecosystems do not suffer adverse environmental impact as a result of alterations to watercourses. In many situations decisions are made to address individual stream degradation problems (i.e. streambank erosion, stream destabilization, or flooding) with stop gap measures that do not take into consideration all aspects of the entire watershed.

Brightwater, Inc. provides services in watershed assessments taking into consideration the natural factors which impact stream systems. These natural factors are geologic, hydrologic, hydraulic, and geometric. In considering these factors, stream discharge, slope, and sediment load are determined to identify stream pattern. Once the natural stream pattern is identified, destabilized channels and their accompanying adverse impact on stream ecosystem structure and function can be reversed. Restoration of destabilized streams using this approach can usually be accomplished for one tenth the costs when considering use of non structural technologies over structural controls.

Brightwater, Inc. also offers services in stream protection strategies, water quality assessments, wetland consultation, delineation, and mitigation. Brightwater can assist government in developing sound watershed management strategies that are both cost effective and result in the protection or improvement of the stream ecosystem.