RPS Methodology, Step 7: Use Your Results
A remarkable variety of different interests, user groups and publicly and privately run programs are involved in restoration and protection of US waters and watersheds. Recovery Potential Screening (RPS) was originally developed as a technical approach for arranging Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 303(d)-listed impaired waters in a prioritized schedule for Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) development and restoration. As a flexible yet systematic framework in a moderately easy to use tool, RPS is useful and applicable within and well beyond Clean Water Act programs. In addition to impaired waters programs at local, state or national level, other applications include fisheries management and restoration, non-point source control grants, green infrastructure and healthy watersheds planning, river basin plan development, rural and urban environmental justice programs, urban watershed restoration strategies and priority-setting in public lands management. Across these varied interests, example uses for screening assessment results include:
- Identify relative differences in restorability among all watersheds and related factors, to better anticipate restoration workloads from place to place.
- Identify the more restorable watersheds as an aid to decision makers.
- Help prioritize the CWA section 303(d) list schedule for TMDL development.
- Target or prioritize implementation of existing TMDLs for promising watersheds.
- Evaluate where best to make CWA section 319 (nonpoint source control) or other restoration investments.
- Target monitoring where ongoing recoveries appear more likely.
- Establish a baseline for studying future recovery patterns.
- Identify where impaired watershed restoration and healthy watershed protection efforts can have great synergy.
- Influence restoration partnering site selection based on social context scores.
- Coordinate with major groups or agencies who carry out restoration themselves.
- Provide a transparent, systematic basis for restoration decisions and priorities.