The 3 Rivers 2nd Nature stream restoration and daylighting program addresses stream restoration within cities. We maintain that living streams represent a core value relevant to a successful new economy city. We use the phrase "living streams" to emphasize that our local streams are ecosystems, not merely urban infrastructure. Living streams provide for a wide range of essential urban needs: water quality improvement, runoff management, recreational and educational opportunities, beautiful landscapes, and wildlife habitat. They support property values and generate other economic benefits. A particular 3 Rivers - 2nd Nature focus is stream "daylighting." Daylighting is the act of removing streams from underground pipes and culverts, restoring some of the form and function of historic streams. Daylighting is the most profound form of stream restoration, recreating a surface waterway where "nothing" exists now.

We aim to identify daylighting opportunities in Allegheny County and encourage development of daylighting demonstration sites. Our program takes a strategic, conceptual approach. Our interest is in framing issues, communicating opportunities, and building constituencies. The effort is structured to be iterative and replicable, both within sub-areas of the county and as a model that can be applied beyond. Our goals are:
Short Term: Develop efficient and effective expert and public processes to identify high-potential daylighting sites and encourage initiation of appropriate projects.
Long Term: Change expert and public consciousness about the benefits of open waterways and functioning urban aquatic ecosystems, and effect the protection and restoration of those ecosystems in order to realize their ecological, economic, infrastructure, social and other values.

The agenda for living streams
Data on culverting permits from the Pennsylvania DEP show that Pittsburgh-area streams are still being buried. It is also clear that development threatens the ecological integrity of many local watersheds. The available data on stream conditions and consideration of the historical and current factors leading to degradation and outright loss of streams suggest that a multi-faceted agenda, outlined in this report, is required to establish an ethic-and real results-for living streams in Allegheny County: