NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON FRESHWATER 

 INFLOW TO ESTUARIES 



PREFACE 



The First National Symposium on 

 Freshwater Inflow to Estuaries spon- 

 sored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, was held in San Antonio, 

 Texas on 9-12 September 1980. The 

 Symposium focused attention on the 

 importance of estuarine ecosystems to 

 our Nation and their dependency on 

 freshwater inflows. Estuaries have 

 been degraded in many coastal areas 

 and much of the documented damage has 

 been attributed to alteration and re- 

 ductions of freshwater inflow. The 

 symposium was organized to accomplish 

 the following objectives: 



1. Identify the issue of 

 estuarine freshwater inflow 

 requirements as a National 

 Environmental Problem. 



2. Describe some values of 

 estuarine ecosystems to the 

 Nation for food, recreation, 

 and fish and wildlife habi- 

 tats . 



3. Review models or method- 

 ologies for predicting the 

 effects of altering freshwater 

 inflow on estuarine ecosystem 

 functions, processes, and pro- 

 duction. 



4. Develop recommendations 

 that bring the freshwater in- 

 flow needs of estuaries more 

 effectively into inland and 

 coastal planning. 



Efforts were made to include 

 participation of government leaders, 

 engineers, ecologists, lawyers, econ- 

 omists, hydrologists , and others in- 



terested in estuaries. We accom- 

 plished all of the stated objectives 

 to some degree. These Proceedings 

 are an initial effort to develop a 

 data base and to bring freshwater 

 inflow into local, state, regional 

 and federal planning and management 

 processes. Participants emphasized 

 that there was much concern for pro- 

 tecting and restoring water needs of 

 estuaries. Lack of planning was 

 attributed to inadequate baseline 

 data and models or methods of apply- 

 ing the data. The Proceedings are 

 organized by chapters that closely 

 follow the Symposium's sessions. 

 The discussion and some of the plen- 

 ary presentations were edited from 

 recorded material. 



Comprehensive and effective 

 planning for freshwater inflow to 

 estuaries requires that all inland 

 land- and water-use decisions with- 

 in a watershed that empties into 

 the ocean should be made with a 

 clear understanding of the conse- 

 quences of these decisions on estu- 

 arine ecosystems. Although this goal 

 will be difficult to implement, it ^.s 

 based upon the widely recognized eco- 

 logical fact that all the ecosystems 

 within a watershed are tied together. 



Several recommendations to pro- 

 tect and restore estuarine ecosystems 

 were developed from plenary sessions, 

 technical papers, and discussions. 

 These recommendations will be for- 

 warded to agencies responsible for 

 their implementation. 



Estuaries probably have been 

 affected more by development and 

 industry than any other ecosystem in 

 our Nation because many of our 

 largest cities are located either on 



