Clean-Water Land Use: Connecting Scale and Function

Various aspects related to the extensive adverse impacts of land use on water quality are discussed. Given the complexities of watershed scale and function and land use scale and function, new watershed institutions would not necessarily achieve "clean-water land use" simply because they are created at watershed levels and given land use responsibilities. A mixed regional-local model offers much promise for advancing a policy of aquatically sustainable land use. It matches various institutional functions to appropriate scales, and it enhances the authority and tools of both local governments, and regional watershed institutions, while providing the right mix of restrictions and requirements to promote the use of institutional authority in ecologically responsible ways.