Progress 10/01/01 to 09/30/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This project has conducted an extensive review of watershed-scale models and analytical tools for planning and assessing TMDLs and developed a decision tree that state agencies can use in selecting an appropriate model or tool. An extensive report was made available to resource planners locally and nationally. A web portal for disseminating the outcomes of the model evaluation process (Objective 1) is under development. Research findings of this model development and evaluation project were presented to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources which is responsible for developing TMDLs for Iowa), Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, state representatives on the S-1004 committee, and to a few nonprofit environmental organizations in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is using these findings in developing TMDLs for priority watersheds and waterbodies.
PARTICIPANTS: Investigator: U.S. Tim. The following individuals participated in this project: Hardeep Bajwa, Deepinder Doel, and Amritpal Kang. The project provided graduate training to the three participants listed above. Two of the participants (Bajwa and Doel) have completed their MS training and are employed by the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Redland, CA) and the third (Kang) is completing graduate industry internship in Virginia.
TARGET AUDIENCES: The audience targeted by this project includes local, state, and federal resource planners and managers, consultants, non-governmental organizations, and state and federal resource agencies, particularly the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The overall outcome of the project will be the evaluation and development of watershed models and economic analysis tools that can be used for TMDL development and implementation in agricultural watersheds. Since the overarching goal of this project is to ensure that techniques used for TMDL development and implementation in agricultural watersheds are based on the best science available and that the TMDLs and their implementation are economically and socially feasible, the ultimate beneficiaries will be the agricultural community, land users, home owners, and other watershed stakeholders who will be impacted by the TMDL program.
Impacts
One important outcome of this regional project is increased knowledge concerning the appropriateness of various TMDL development models and analytical tools for application in agricultural watersheds. This outcome has significantly improved the utility of current models used for TMDL development in agricultural watersheds and enhanced the capacity of state agencies in developing technically defensible TMDLs. Overall, there is a reduction in cost of developing and implementing the TMDL for impaired watersheds because the best modeling tool for TMDL development was selected and used. Another relevant outcome of this project is improved software interfaces to aid in the use of watershed models for TMDL development. Here, we employed recent advances in computing and information technology to: allow disparate watershed data to be integrated into models, enhance interactive simulation runs with the model, and aid in the interpretation and visualization of simulated results.
The net effect of improved software interfaces is the reduction in time and cost of developing a TMDL for an impaired, complex watershed. In addition to capacity building and enhancement of the TMDL program, another outcome and broader impact of this project is the training of graduate students for the increasingly technological environmental workforce.
Publications
- Kang, A. and Tim, U.S. 2006. WebSWAT-A web-based portal and cyber-environment for evaluating watershed management practices and the TMDL. Water Resources Technical Report 2006-3. Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
- Tim, U.S. 2006. Qualitative evaluation of models for TMDL development and implementation. Water Resources Technical Report 2006-4. Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
- Tim, U.S. 2007. Microbial source tracking and TMDLs: A critical review of techniques for documenting sources of microbial pathogen contamination of watersheds. Water Resources Technical Report 2007-1. Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs
The Iowa State University component of S-1004 has involved comprehensive model evaluation study and development of a web-based modeling infrastructure or portal that significantly enhances watershed-level TMDL modeling. The web-based modeling environment, called WebSWAT, integrates ArcGIS software and cyber-collaborative tools with the SWAT biophysical model to allow users to manage and fuse watershed date, organize the data in format suitable for modeling, and visualize the results of the modeling from a simple web interface or portal. With the growing research interest in cyberinfrastructure for environmental and hydrological sciences, WebSWAT should provide a much needed portal for exploring impacts of agricultural land use on water quality using data from distributed environmental observatories, data grids, and environmental databases. Research is ongoing to refine and improve WebSWAT by integrating socioeconomic modeling and by using new semantics and ontologies
to improve use and interoperability. Furthermore, a public outreach ant technology transfer component is ongoing with the aim of enhancing the capacity of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in its TMDL development and implementation program. With the more than 157 waterbodies listed on the Iowa's 2004 303(d) list, our project promises to advance the development of TMDL for these waterbodies and to facilitate adaptive implementation of BMPs for impaired watersheds.
Impacts
The impacts of this multi-institutional and regional project are many and varied. For example, the project has (a) provided technical guidance on appropriate terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem model and on how to use the models, states resource agencies stand to significantly reduce the costs of developing TMDLs for impaired waters; (b) contributed to enhancing the capacity of resource agencies to engage stakeholders in the watershed water quality decision making process, an important element of the TMDL program; and (c) contributed to improved environmental quality by providing appropriate predictive tools for assessing pre- and post-BMP implementation.
Publications
- Kang, A. and Tim, U.S. 2006. WebSWAT-A web-based portal and cyberenvironment for evaluating watershed management practices and the TMDL. Water Resources Technical Report 2006-3. Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
- Tim, U.S. 2006. Qualitative evaluation of models for TMDL development and implementation. Water Resources Technical Report 2006-4. Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
- Tim, U.S. 2007. Microbial source tracking and TMDLs: A critical review of techniques for documenting sources of microbial pathogen contamination of watersheds. Water Resources Technical Report 2007-1. Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
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Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05
Outputs
Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act demands the development and implementation of the total maximum load (TMDL) that determines the adequacy of a waterbody to meet designated and beneficial uses taken into consideration point and nonpoint sources within contributing watersheds. The TMDL program offers an efficient and cost-effective mechanism for restoring impaired waters and forms the basis for developing best management practices (BMPs) to protect water quality and ecosystems. For the program to meet its desired goals, scientific research that integrates watershed-scale monitoring and mathematical modeling is critically needed. This interdisciplinary, multi-institutional and regional research project was initiated to address the monitoring and modeling needs of the program and to build capacity of state resource agencies in developing pollutant loads. One objective of the program involves developing, improving, and evaluating watershed models and other
approaches for TMDL development and implementation. Under four interrelated tasks, we have made significant progress in evaluating and improving a set of terrestrial and receiving-water models for use in the TMDL program. As a collaborative effort with Virginia Tech and Texas A&M, we have developed a web-based modeling infrastructure that should significantly enhance watershed modeling for development of pollutant loads. The modeling environment called WebSWAT integrates emerging cyber-collaborative tools with the SWAT biophysical model to allow users to manage and fuse watershed date, organize the data in format suitable for modeling, and visualize the results of the modeling from a simple web interface. With the growing research interest in cyberinfrastructure for environmental science, WebSWAT should provide a much needed portal for exploring impacts of agricultural land use on water quality using data from environmental observatories. Research is ongoing to refine and improve the
WebSWAT interface by incorporating economic and social policy models and by using new ontologies to improve modeling applications. In addition to modeling research, we will continue our public outreach and technology transfer activities so as to enhance the capacity of state agencies and enable them involve stakeholders in TMDL implementation. With the more than 157 waterbodies listed on the Iowa 2004 303(d) list, our project holds significant potential to advance the development of TMDL for these waterbodies and to facilitate implementation of BMPs for impaired watersheds.
Impacts
The impacts of this multi-institutional and regional project are broad and varied. First, by providing guidance on appropriate terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem model and on how to use the models, states resource agencies stand to significantly reduce the costs of developing TMDLs for impaired waters. Second, the project has contributed to enhancing the capacity of resource agencies to engage stakeholders in the watershed water quality decision making process, an important element of the TMDL program. Third, and most important, the project has contributed to improved environmental quality by providing appropriate predictive tools for assessing pre- and post-BMP implementation.
Publications
- Tim, U.S., R.S. Kanwar, J.L. Baker, R. Gu, et al. 2005. Assessment, calibration, and evaluation of water quality models for estimating urban and agricultural pollutant discharge from Iowa watersheds. Final Report submitted to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Ames, IA: Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University.
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Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04
Outputs
The basis for development and implementation of the total maximum daily load (TMDL) program rests on a wide range of technical and socioeconomic factors, including resource economics, expected ability to meet the TMDL limits and water quality standards, ambient water quality monitoring, and simulation modeling of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Although the EPA has provided a compendium of models and technical assistance to states, the reliability of mathematical models and monitoring programs adopted by the states remain questionable. There remains a significant gap between mathematical models developed for routine prediction of nonpoint source pollutant concentrations and those models that can be efficiently and cost-effectively used to support TMDL development and implementation. Indeed a number of reports have identified the lack of sound science in the methodologies used to monitor or model water quality in support of the TMDL program. This multi-state,
regional research project is intended to address these limitations and develop cost-effective models and decision support systems for TMDL planning, development and implementation. The project is informed by the need to develop, modify and evaluate water quality models and other approaches for developing and implementing TMDLs. In the research project we have conducted a rigorous, critical and science-based evaluation of a myriad of current terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem models that are applicable to the TMDL program. Through this comprehensive review, we have identified a select group of models that can be efficiently utilized to predict the load and wasteload contributions of pollutants and to assess the effectiveness of best management strategies for nonpoint sources and pollution reduction options for point sources. Using the strength and weaknesses of the models as a guide, we have made many suggestions and recommendations for modifying and refining the mathematical models and
for integrating the models with disparate environmental databases and GIS software interfaces. Furthermore, we have designed, developed, and implemented web-based interfaces that can significantly enhance the use of water quality models and databases by resource planners and stakeholders. Finally, a guidance document to assist in the selection, use, and refinement of water quality models (terrestrial and aquatic) has been developed and is being used by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for their TMDL program. We are currently investigating approaches and developing interface programs that will facilitate the integration of socioeconomic models with the biophysical (including linked terrestrial and aquatic components) models to provide a holistic decision support system in support of TMDL. Our overarching goal is to create products and tools that will ensure that the techniques, both ambient water quality monitoring and modeling, and approaches used for TMDL development and
implementation are scientifically sound, cost-effective, and useable by resource planners and watershed stakeholders.
Impacts
This project has broader scientific impacts, intellectual merits, and economic implications. From the scientific impact perspective, we have advanced knowledge and understanding of mathematical models and other analytical tools that characterize and predict effects of human activities on water quality. The intellectual merit of the project is derived from the use of the guidance document created in the project in environmental/watershed science and engineering courses and curriculum. Economic impact is derived from use of the guidance document to select appropriate models for impaired waters, type of impairment, and size of the contributing landscape areas. We estimate that through the use of an appropriate and optimal model for a given impairment and landscape, state resource agencies (e.g., the Iowa Department of Natural Resources) should be able to reduce their TMDL development costs by about 50 percent. It is important to note that the EPA estimates TMDL
development costs to range from $63 million to $69 million annually. Overall, the research should assist states in developing sustainable strategies to protect water quality, restore impaired or threatened surface waters, and maintain the integrity and beneficial uses of water resource systems.
Publications
- Tim, U.S. 2005. Navigating the TMDL development and implementation process: Issues of modeling and monitoring uncertainty. Water Quality Report No 05-1. Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 20 pp.
- Tim, U.S., R. Kanwar, J. Baker, R Gu, et al. 2005. Assessment, calibration and evaluation of water quality models for estimating urban and agricultural pollutant discharge from Iowa watersheds. Final Report. Des Moines, IA: Department of Natural Resources.
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Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03
Outputs
The section 303(d) program established the total maximum daily loads (TMDLs), with the objective of restoring and maintaining the designated uses of surface waters through technology-based pollution control strategies, including best management practices. Development and implementation of the TMDL program have been highly controversial, requiring Congressional oversight hearing and civil litigation. Watershed stakeholders and environmental advocate groups have expressed concerns about the scientific and regulatory basis of the TMDL program. Some of these concerns have been articulated in several recent reports. One major concern, the focus of this regional project, relates to development and evaluation of monitoring procedures and decision support models for TMDL assessment and planning. Using an integrated approach, this project is addressing the ecological, economic and equity issues associated with TMDLs and water quality trading in both rural and urban watersheds.
A rigorous, science-based evaluation and assessment of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem models for suitability in determining TMDL loads has been completed. Databases and datasets required by the models have been documented and a guidance document containing details to improve the TMDL program is under development. These activities will significantly improve development of TMDL and watershed water quality protection programs in Iowa.
Impacts
There continues to be increasing need to deliver credible scientific information, practical guidance, and proven decision-support tools/problem-solving environments to help resource planners, regulators, and other stakeholders develop and implement effective strategies for TMDL analysis, watershed and water resource management, water quality trading, and ecosystem protection. In Iowa, as in many states, TMDLs affect land, air and water policy decisions with potential economic impacts of millions of dollars. For cost-effective and efficient planning and assessment of TMDL, this Iowa component of the regional project is: (1) developing state-of the science decision support models and scientific understanding for quantifying TMDLs, analyzing allocation strategies and water quality trading schemes, and assessing and managing potential risks to watersheds; (2) providing state-of-the-art tools that enable stakeholders and resource planners to derive TMDLs and evaluate
alternative allocations and implementation plans; and (3) providing information, guidance and methods for developing and implementing effective environmental management programs. Overall, the research should assist states, in developing sustainable strategies to protect water quality, restore pollution-impaired or pollution-threatened waters, and maintain the integrity and beneficial uses of its water resources.
Publications
- Tim U.S. 2003. TMDL Development and Implementation: A review of states methodology and approaches. Technical Report ABE001-03. Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University., Ames, IA 50011.
- Tim, U.S. 2004. Implications of watershed water quality modeling uncertainty for TMDLs. Technical Report ABE002-04. Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University., Ames, IA 50011.
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Progress 01/01/02 to 12/31/02
Outputs
Section 303 (d) of the federal Clean Water Act contain provisions requiring states, territories and tribes in the United States to adopt water quality standards for their waterbodies, and the EPA is required to approve those standards. Section 303(d) of CWA also establishes the total maximum daily load (TMDL) program, with the objective of restoring and maintaining the beneficial uses of surface water bodies and waterbody segments. This TMDL is the calculated maximum amount of a pollutant load that a waterbody or waterbody segment can receive without violating applicable water quality standards and an allocation of that amount of the pollutant sources contributing to the water quality impairments. However, the implementation of the 303 (d) program requirements, especially those associated with TMDLs, has been highly controversial requiring congressional ovenite and litigation. Watershed stakeholder groups and governmental and non-governmental organizations, have
expressed concerns about the regulatory and scientific basis of the TMDL program. The 2001 National Research Council study undertaken at the request of the U.S. Congress, also raised several scientific research questions regarding TMDL development and implementation. Two areas of concern, the focus of this regional project, were: (1) reducing the uncertainties associated with water quality modeling, and (2) developing cost-efficient ambient water quality monitoring techniques to quantify extent and impact of pollution on waterbodies. Using an integrated science-based approach, the Iowa component of this regional project is addressing pollutant load allocation issues associated with TMDL development in both urban and rural watersheds. We have completed a rigorous, science-based evaluation of terrestrial models for their suitability for TMDL development. This assessment has identified a number of candidate models that are suitable TMDLs for, or can be modified to meet, the load
allocation needs of the TMDL program. We have also identified the various data requirements and procedures for evaluating and characterizing uncertainty in TMDL modeling.
Impacts
One of the project's goals is to provide unbiased scientific information critical to the development and implementation of the TMDL program. The multidisciplinary approach, in conjunction with integrated monitoring and modeling framework, should reduce the cost and modeling uncertainties associated with the TMDL program. The economic benefits of improved implementation of the TMDL program across the U.S. are significant. In addition, our research will enhance the adaptive implementation of TMDL through identification of appropriate water quality models that are consistent with watershed/water quality protection goals. The overall impact will be improved environmental decision-making.
Publications
- Tim US. 2003. TMDL Development and Implementation: A review of state methodology and approaches. Technical Report #ABE001-03. Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University.
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