Drainage Ponds and Demonstration Wetlands

by Joseph Skorupa,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: North American Water and Environment Congress & Destructive Water

Abstract:

In California's southern San Joaquin Valley, subsurface irrigation drainage pumped into shallow evaporation ponds often contains elevated concentrations of selenium. The selenium is readily bioaccumulated by aquatic organisms residing in the ponds and can interfere with normal avian reproduction when breeding birds feed on the aquatic organisms. Protocols for site-specific wildlife mitigation have been developed based on the concepts of Landscape Assimilative Capacity (for avoiding impacts) and Direct Compensation (for unavoided reproductive losses). One demonstration wetland, operated as compensation habitat, was monitored during the 1994 and 1995 avian breeding seasons as part of efforts to evaluate mitigation protocols and develop mitigation techniques.

Subject Headings: Wetlands (fresh water) | Mitigation and remediation | Wildlife | Subsurface drainage | Selenium | Ponds | Organisms

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