This seminar will provide an overview of a variety of tools currently being developed and used by Region 5 to assist in watershed and water quality management activities.  Often, data manipulation and analysis for watershed management can require routine and repetitive tasks that are time consuming on the part of the Regional staff.  Existing tools to help support these tasks throughout the Agency in both ORD and the program offices may be difficult to locate. 

This seminar will provide an overview of some of the solutions being applied in Region 5 for optimizing activities related to watershed and water quality management.  The first presentation will provide an overview of the P8 Model and its application for estimating stormwater runoff pollutants in Region 5 and other areas.  The second presentation will provide an overview of a statistical application developed by EPA’s Office of Environmental Information in response to a request by Region 5 for assistance in data processing and analysis for watershed management.  Finally, speakers from EPA’s Office of Water and Office of Research and Development will provide an overview of current activities leading toward the development of a centralized web-based system that contains informational, programmatic and technical tools for integrated watershed management. 

Featured Speakers include:

Cynthia Curtis from EPA Region 5, Dr. John Panuska from the Biological Systems Engineering Department, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Ming Chang from EPA’s Office of Environmental Information, Stuart Lehman from EPA’s Office of Water, and Dr. Susan Cormier and Joe Williams from EPA’s Office of Research and Development.

Power Point slides can be downloaded by clicking the links to the presentations below – please email Elsie Sunderland (sunderland.elsie@epa.gov) if you have any problems downloading and/or viewing the presentations.

100-110

Welcome to Regional Seminar Series & Introductions

Elsie Sunderland, Council for Regulatory Environmental Modeling

110-120

Regional Modeling Overview

Cynthia Curtis, Region 5

120-145

An Overview of the Use and Application of the P8 Model to Predict Generation and Transport of Stormwater Runoff Pollutants in Urban Watersheds

Dr. John Panuska, Biological Systems Engineering Department, University of Wisconsin, Madison

145-150

Questions and Discussion

150-215

Statistical Capabilities for Watershed Data Processing found in “Window to Readily Available Analytical Products (WRAP)’

Ming Chang, Office of Information Access and Analysis, Office of Environmental Information

215-220

Questions and Discussion

220-245

Building Watershed Central: Concept and Implementation of Integrating Models, Tools and Data for Watershed Management

Stuart Lehman, EPA Office of Water; Dr. Susan Cormier and Joe Williams, EPA Office of Research and Development

245-300

Questions and Open Discussion

An Overview of the Use and Application of the P8 Model to Predict Generation and Transport of Stormwater Runoff Pollutants in Urban Watersheds

P8 is a model for predicting the generation and transport of stormwater runoff pollutants in urban watersheds. Continuous water-balance and mass-balance calculations are performed on a user-defined system consisting of the following elements:

·        Watersheds (nonpoint source areas, up to 192)

·        Devices (runoff storage/treatment areas or BMP's, up to 48

·        Particle Classes (up to 5)

·        Water Quality Components (up to 10)

Simulations are driven by continuous hourly rainfall and daily air temperature time series. The model has been developed for use by engineers and planners in designing and evaluating runoff treatment schemes for existing or proposed urban developments. The model is initially calibrated to predict runoff quality typical of that measured under the EPA's Nationwide Urban Runoff Program (Athayede et al., 1983) for Rhode Island rainfall patterns.  Predicted water quality components include suspended solids (five size fractions), total phosphorus, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, copper, lead, zinc, and total hydrocarbons.

Primary applications include site BMP design to achieve total suspended solids removal efficiencies.  Simulated BMP types include detention ponds (wet, dry, extended), infiltration basins, swales, and buffer strips. The model includes the ability to automatically re-size a single BMP or BMP network to achieve a user specified pollutant removal.  Hydrologic components of the program are calibrated and tested against six years of daily streamflow data from the 15,000-acre Hunt-Potowomut watershed, Rhode Island. The model is used to examine the water quality implications of alternative treatment objectives.

Inputs are structured in terms which should be familiar to planners and engineers involved in hydrologic evaluation. Several tabular and graphic output formats are provided.  This most recent upgrade to P8 is a migration from the original DOS-based platform to a Windows™ - based platform along with some output graphics enhancements.

Statistical Capabilities for Watershed Data Processing found in "Window to Readily-available Products (WRAP)", A Web Based Application Developed by EPA’s Office of Environmental Information

Window to Readily-available Products (WRAP) is a web based application, which allows users to search a database containing information on scientific applications and their associated data geographically that is used by offices and regions throughout the EPA.  WRAP has been created to do the following:

·        Consolidate data on Models, Statistical Tools, and Mapping Tools.

·        Make the data accessible via a geographic interface and an easy to use search interface with options such as a mapping interface, Keyword Search, and Search By Category.

·        Allows users to quickly find hundreds tools that can assist them in their scientific work. 

Building Watershed Central: Concept and Implementation of Integrating Models, Tools and Data for Watershed Management

Objective

To speed the pace of water quality protection and restoration, the Office of Water (OW), Office of Environmental Information (OEI), and the Office of Research and Development (ORD) plans to develop and evaluate options for delivery of EPA informational, programmatic and technical tools via an integrated watershed management framework in a web-based system.

Background

The Office of Water (OW) has just released the EPA's Draft Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters to help state and local watershed planners answer watershed management questions critical to the development implementation, and evaluation of watershed management plans.  Ultimately, this draft handbook will be interactive via the World Wide Web. The OW, OEI, and ORD proposed that the watershed planning process described in this manual be used to guide development of a web-based watershed information center that could be integrated into a larger web-based watershed information delivery framework – Watershed Central.  Many of the application resources that could make up such an integrated decision support system or portal, such as models, data bases, and GIS tools, have already been developed by the ORD,  OEI, and OW and other federal and state agencies.

This project benefits OW by helping states and local communities achieve the goals in the Clean Water Act, to help address natural and man-made disasters, and to restore pervasive and extensive environmental problems through use of the TMDL process, non-point source programs (319), and interagency cooperation   OW, OEI, and ORD view this project as an optimal collaboration for ensuring that research targets environmental problems that will result in the greatest benefits and that the products from that research will meet the needs, specifications, preferences, and immediacy required by users.  Research products will be more easily identified in the context of their application using a single EPA web-enabled integrated watershed management system and provide a means for new tools, models, and best management practices to be more readily accessible.  In order for OW and ORD to integrate their analytical work, they need OEI to help design and implement the framework for the following products.

Proposed Milestones/Product(s)

• OEI/ORD/OW joint sponsored workshop to identify and evaluate tools that can be integrated via:

o       Proposed Watershed Central.

o       Windows for Readily Accessible Analytical Products (WRAP)

• Recommend a framework to integrate watershed assessment and management science and tools to address EPA programmatic goals and objectives (i.e., the Clean Water Act.)
• Beta version Watershed Central
• Final version Watershed Central

Agency Benefits

• Provides a coordinated water quality assessment and management context for EPA’s watershed tools and science to expedite remediation of our Nation’s waters.
• Partnership with all internal offices across OW and ORD at office director level
• Builds OEI credibility in arena of scientific analysis that is integrated with IT
• Access to ORD and OW water-related data resources
• Strengthens relationships with ORD, OW, and OEI for future collaborative work and resources

Potential Environmental Outcomes

·        Decreased time-frame for development of scientifically credible and defensible watershed plans

·        Measurable utilization of WAPSS/WMP

·        Documentation of implemented protective and remedial actions

·        Documentation of water quality or quantity after management intervention

John C. Panuska, Ph.D., PE

Natural Resources Extension Specialist
Biological Systems Engineering Department
University of Wisconsin Madison
460 Henry Mall
Madison, WI 53706

Voice: (608) 262-0605
FAX: (608) 262-1228
Email: jcpanuska@wisc.edu

John Panuska is a Natural Resources Extension Specialist with the University of Wisconsin Extension.  Prior to UW Extension, John spent 11 years with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources working on lake water quality management and water quality modeling.  He is currently housed in the Biological Systems Engineering Department on the UW Madison Campus.  He has a BS in Civil Engineering, an MS in Agricultural Engineering and, recently, completed a Ph. D. in Biological Systems Engineering at UW- Madison.  He is registered professional engineer in Wisconsin and Minnesota and registered professional hydrologist in Wisconsin.  A major component of John’s Extension program is focused on development and application of computer models for water resources management.  His modeling focus includes both agricultural and urban runoff modeling. 

John has used the P8 Urban Catchment Model since it was first released in May 1990 and has been actively involved with P8 as a user and/or trainer since that time.  He has worked closely with the model developer, Dr William Walker, in upgrading, maintaining and testing P8.  His interest and involvement continues with Beta testing of latest Windows version of P8.