More than 30 years ago, researchers placed discarded automobile tires in concrete-lined canals in California and Arizona to create habitat for fish and other aquatic organisms. At the time, the results were impressive. Areas containing the tire reefs supported three times as many aquatic invertebrates and 20 times as many fish as typical sections of the canals. Reusing discarded tires while restoring lost habitat seemed like a pretty good idea.

Even then, researchers questioned whether chemicals could leach from the tires. Today, we know considerably more about the chemicals, metals and tiny particles that can enter aquatic environments as tires deteriorate. We’ve also seen what happened to some artificial tire reefs over time, with tires breaking loose and becoming debris rather than permanent habitat.

It raises an interesting question: How differently would we approach the same project today? The full story goes beyond tires and shows how advances in science can change the way we think about aquatic herbicides, environmental management and even solutions that once appeared environmentally beneficial.

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