A wetland delineation is the fieldwork that determines or outlines the boundary between uplands and wetlands on a property. It may be done with aerial photography, digital imagery or other graphic representation of the area or land.
This on-site work follows guidelines established by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Identification of wetlands using the federal delineation method primarily involves the determination of three factors: the predominance of hydrophytic (wetland) vegetation, hydric (wetland) soils, and signs of hydrology.
The USDA website defines wetlands further: Land that (1) has a predominance of hydric soils; (2) is inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence of hydrophytic vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions; and (3) under normal circumstances does support a prevalence of such vegetation, except that this term does not include lands in Alaska identified as having a high potential for agricultural development and a predominance of permafrost soils.
Hydric soils are soils that, in an undrained condition, are saturated, flooded, or ponded long enough during a growing season to develop an anaerobic condition that supports the growth and regeneration of hydrophytic vegetation. Hydrophytic vegetation are plants growing in water or in a substrate that is at least periodically deficient in oxygen during a growing season as a result of excessive water content.
Wetland delineation reports usually take approximately one or two months to complete, but if there is a dispute as to whether an area of land is wetlands or not, sometimes a process called water-table testing is done. This process must be started in late winter and continues through early spring, approximately February through April. This process is where multiple locations on the land in question are tested for groundwater levels over the spring/growing season and monitored usually on a weekly basis.
Lauren Bunting is a Broker with Keller Williams Realty of Delmarva in Ocean City, Maryland.
