Portuguese Studies Programat University of California, Berkeley 1

july 2008

stUdent researCh reportLindsey Fransen

http://ies.berkeley.edu/psp/portuguesestudies/

Restoring Northern Portugal’s Coastal Creeks

ChaRaCteRizatioN aNd ReCommeNdatioNS FoRRibeiRa de vaLadeRaS aNd RibeiRa RiguiNha

Collecting water quality data at the mouth of ribeira riguinha. Lindsey Fransen (UC Berkeley), ana Cristina padilha, and andre Fonseca (FeUp)

portugal’s coastal creeks face a number of pressures that often result in poor water quality, reduced habitat for native species, and the loss of a community amenity. the Water Framework directive (WFd), passed by the european Union in 2000, calls for all members states to bring their water bodies to good ecological status by 2015. this project was undertaken to identify the status of coastal creeks in northern portugal

and, where shortcomings were found, to generate recommendations for improving the quality of these creeks under the WFd.

methodS

Field studies were conducted and analyzed along with GIs data for two creeks, the Valadares and riguinha.

Portuguese Studies Programat University of California, Berkeley 2july 2008

rest

orI

nG

no

rth

ern

po

rtU

Ga

L’s C

oa

sta

L Cr

eeks

: Ch

ara

Cte

rIza

tIo

n &

reC

om

men

dat

Ion

s Fo

r rI

BeIr

a d

e Va

Lad

era

s &

rIB

eIra

rIG

UIn

ha

stUdent researCh reportLindsey Fransen

ReSuLtS

the study concludes that both creeks suffer from poor water quality in stretches due to urbanization, agriculture, and channelization. Both also provide little habitat for native species due to poor water quality and physical constraints brought about by modification of their channels. neither creek provides notable aesthetic or recreational value to nearby communities, although both are used as a source of irrigation water for farmers along their banks.

Below: riberia Valadares with residential buildings and agricultural fields nearby.

Bottom: neighbors demonstrate a pump that used to exist near ribeira Valadares

Portuguese Studies Programat University of California, Berkeley 3july 2008

rest

orI

nG

no

rth

ern

po

rtU

Ga

L’s C

oa

sta

L Cr

eeks

: Ch

ara

Cte

rIza

tIo

n &

reC

om

men

dat

Ion

s Fo

r rI

BeIr

a d

e Va

Lad

era

s &

rIB

eIra

rIG

UIn

ha

stUdent researCh reportLindsey Fransen

table 1: Water quality chemical and biological testing results in ribeira Valadares, July 7, 2008

Site A B C D E FpH 7.5 7 7 7 7 6Temp. (ºC) 17.3 18.1 20 20.2 20.6 17.6Conductivity (us/cm2) 395 386 429 95.3 70.4 58.8Dissolved O2 (%) 105 101.4 100 85.8 92 77.8NO3 (mg/L) 10 20 0 0 0 20Turbidity 4 4 4 4 4 4Macro invertebrates 3 3 3 4 4 2

Overall Accept. Accept. Accept. Good Good Bad

Key 5: Excellent 4: Good 3: Acceptable 2: Bad 1: Very bad

table 2: Water quality chemical and biological testing results in ribeira riguinha, July 11, 2008

Site A BpH 6.5 7.5Temperature (degrees C) 19 24.2Conductivity (ms/cm) 81 110.4Conductivity (mg/L) 53 73Dissolved Oxygen (%) 98 91.7NO2 (mg/L) 0 0NO3 (mg/L) 0 0Turbidity (1-4, bad-good) 0 3Macro invertebrates 2 2

Overall 4 4

Key 1: Excellent 2: Good 3: Acceptable 4: Bad 5: Very bad

ribeira Valadares Basin ribeira riguinha Basin

Portuguese Studies Programat University of California, Berkeley 4july 2008

rest

orI

nG

no

rth

ern

po

rtU

Ga

L’s C

oa

sta

L Cr

eeks

: Ch

ara

Cte

rIza

tIo

n &

reC

om

men

dat

Ion

s Fo

r rI

BeIr

a d

e Va

Lad

era

s &

rIB

eIra

rIG

UIn

ha

stUdent researCh reportLindsey Fransen

ReCommeNdatioNS

In both streams, to improve water quality, riparian habitat and native species, and aesthetic and recreational value to local communities, I recommend the following general interventions:

redUCe the IntrodUCtIon oF poLLUtIon to the rIVer By:

Connecting remaining residences o

and commercial entities to the sewer system;

Creating buffer zones between o

agricultural fields and the stream;

reducing and filtering urban runoff.o

ImproVe Water qUaLIty In the stream BeFore It reaChes the sea By:

developing wetlands and o

retention ponds with native vegetation;

Create haBItat For natIVe speCIes and ImproVe aesthetICs and reCreatIon By:

removing channel walls/bank o

reinforcement;

removing non-native, invasive o

plants and encouraging development of native riparian vegetation;

“daylighting” – bringing culverted o

reaches aboveground.

additionally, in ribeira riguinha, which flows underground for most of its length, I propose a new aboveground channel that will allow the creek to meander through and connect a series of parks until it reaches the sea.

aCkNowLedgmeNtS

project supported by professor rodrigo maia

Fieldwork support provided by pedro teiga

data provided by professor paolo montero, Faculdad de engenhería, Universidade de porto

this research was supported by a generous grant from the University of California pinto-Fialon endowment, administered by the portuguese studies program. the research was carried out in collaboration with the atlas ambiental das ribeiras da Costa da regiÃo norte (“ribeiras atlas”) at the Faculdad de engenheria, Universidad de porto (FeUp), led by professor paulo montero. overall project supervision was provided by professor rodrigo maia, FeUp. the ribeiras atlas project team of ana Cristina padilha, andre Fonseca, and tiago Gomes, developed all hydrological and geographical data used to create maps and flow estimates. Fieldwork was coordinated with the assistance of pedro teiga, phd candidate, FeUp, who also provided overall guidance plus translation, transportation, equipment, and the monitoring framework. thanks also to ms. padilha and mr. Fonseca for help with fieldwork and creating additional maps and models.