3.1.2. Accidental Waterbodies

The abundance and extent of accidentally created aquatic systems is extremely poorly quantified. Human earth movement has risen in the last 150 years, from a historic background level of less than 5 tons per capita to more than 30 tons per capita annually in the U.S. [1], creating the potential for the formation of local low areas and water accumulation. Moreover, earth movement has become more common in wet spaces [51], where the potential for accidental creation of waterbodies is higher. Water infrastructure, such as stormwater or water supply pipes, can create accidental wetlands wherever leakage occurs [27]. Accidental creation of aquatic ecosystems is perhaps most likely in abandoned areas, where anthropogenic depressions and impoundments that accumulate water may remain, often with minimal human interference. Better information about the density of accidental waterbodies, combined with estimates of the land area over which they might occur, would allow us to estimate their extent, but that information is currently lacking.
