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BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR THE CONTROL OF NUTRIENTS FROM URBAN NONPOINT SOURCES
Citation:
O'Shea*, M, M Borst*, AND C. Nietch**. BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR THE CONTROL OF NUTRIENTS FROM URBAN NONPOINT SOURCES. Presented at Estuarine Research Foundation Conference, St. Petersburg Beach, FL, 11/4-8-2001.
Description:
While the costs and benefits associated with the point source control of nutrients are relatively well defined, considerable uncertainties remain in the efficiency and long-term costs associated with the best management practices (BMPs) used to redcuce loads from nonpoint and diffuse sources. BMP options range from the adoption of nonstructural practices, e.g., education, to construction of structural controls, e.g., detention basins. Few studies have attempted to quantify load reductions obtained from nonstructural controls. In contrast, reported removal data for the commonly-used structural BMPs are prodigious; het, collectively these data span ranges so broad their informative value is diminished. Much of the variability observed in reported values can be attributable to site- and non-site-specific factors known to influence efficiencies. An additional factor, which limits removal optimization, is an incomplete understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological processes influencing nutrient removal in BMPs. Research planned at USEPA's NRMRL will help define and model the key mechanistic processes governing removal within commonly-used BMPs. Understanding these processes, singly and in combination, will allow the prediction of BMP effluent for a given influent, the improvement of removals at existing BMPs, and the prediction of efficiencies under extreme episodic events and variable O&M practices.