N ovember 2 0 0 0 • V olume 2 • N umber 6 - American Water ...

NEW DIRECTIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WATERSHED
TOOLKIT: BETTER SCIENCE MAKES BETTER POLICY
Jefferson G. Edgens
Never has putting together an issue of IMPACT been so
fraught with problems yet so diverse in article topics.
John Herring and I were slated to put this issue together
almost a year ago. But as with the best of plans things
develop that throws everything into a cocked hat, and
this issue of IMPACT is no exception.
The title of November’s issue, “Directions in the Development
of the Watershed Toolkit,” is a mystery. At the
time of our Board meeting we conjured topics and this
one came about. But John and I wracked our brains, as
did too the Editor-in-Chief, to clarify what “Directions in
the Development of the Watershed Toolkit” meant. No one
knew.
Moreover as time went by and John pursued his Fulbright
Scholarship, we declared the title dead and pursued
our own authors. Time sped by and John quickly
turned over the entire issue to moi. With a full plate and
a limited window to find writers, I made a command decision
to assemble the magazine around a host of hot topics,
with a common theme – Better Science Makes Better
Policy. I have also taken the Editor’s perogative and developed
two new sections (at least for this issue anyway):
News Items and Point/Counterpoint.
No one should consider the News Section as standard
for all upcoming IMPACT magazines as it’s an experiment
on my part and we’ll see what feedback it generates.
Speaking of feedback, Clay Landry’s article in the May
issue generated a response and we felt it good manners
to provide the ink for the Bacchus and Samson riposte to
Mr. Landry's May article or . . . Point. Of course, Mr.
Landry gets equal time in his Counterpoint. Again please
let the IMPACT Editorial Board know if this is something
we should keep, revise, or simply throw out.
For November, authors write on hot topics appearing
in newspapers and television programs across the country
(MTBE, Blue Baby Syndrome, TMDL Developments,
the Corps of Engineer Reforms and Sludge Application).
Tom Randall, an environmental consultant, adapts his
Chicago Tribune investigative report on sewage sludge, for
our IMPACT readers. He also gives us the current state of
controversy with MTBE and ground water pollution.
Gretchen Randall provides us with a critique of the Corps
of Engineers’ reforms. In an excellent recap of the TMDL
rules, Bonner Cohen notes that in EPA’s haste to do
something, the agency created additional opportunities to
litigate over water quality. I’d add that additional litigation
only detracts from the business of cleaning our nation’s
waters. Finally, Alex Avery closes this section with
his review of the science behind blue baby syndrome (a
version of this article appeared in Environmental Health
Perspectives).
In the Features Section, two articles by Witter et al.,
and Richard Halpern close the November issue of
IMPACT. Scott Witter et al., showcase a cutting edge idea
for watershed management on the Michigan State campus,
and Richard Halpern takes the profession to task
with a critique of water quality modeling.
His ideas take me back to my time at Michigan State
University and Dr. Paul Nickel’s class on Environmental
Inquiry. Dr. Nickel, borrowing from Karl Popper among
others, always encouraged his students to apply critical
reasoning tests and science process to our assignments.
He always said, “models are representations of reality –
not reality; model builders cheat and all models crash.”
The last two pithy comments refer to the tendency for
modelers to tweak their programs until the thing fits their
desired outcome (cheating) but rarely do models comport
with reality (models crash). I should also add, he always
insisted we never take ourselves too seriously. A good bit
of advice when we go about water quality modeling.
“Directions in the Development of the Watershed
Toolkit,” for what its worth, has a common theme – Better
Science Makes Better Policy. Without an understanding of
where we’ve failed, we’re most sure to repeat our mistakes.
AUTHOR LINK
E-MAIL
Jefferson G. Edgens, Ph.D.
130 Robinson Road
Robinson Station
University of Kentucky
Jackson, KY 41339
(606) 666-2438, x. 238
Fax: (606) 666-2215
E-Mail: jedgens@ca.uky.edu
Dr. Edgens is the Natural Resource Policy Specialist in
the Department of Forestry at the University of Kentucky.
He has served on several innovative national and state
committees for water and land use. His research and
writing covers TMDLs, watershed management, water
quality, land use, and forest policy. His writings have appeared
or been cited in the Washington Post, Detroit
News, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Louisville
Courier-Journal, Macon Telegraph, Environment and Climate
News and many other newspapers and journals. He
has appeared on radio and television programs around
the country. In addition he is an Associate Editor of
Water Resources IMPACT – a publication of the American
Water Resources Association.
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2 • Water Resources IMPACT November • 2000