Grantee Research Project Results
2017 Progress Report: Center for Comprehensive, optimaL, and Effective Abatement of Nutrients
EPA Grant Number: R835570Center: UT Center for Infrastructure Modeling and Management
Center Director: Hodges, Ben R.
Title: Center for Comprehensive, optimaL, and Effective Abatement of Nutrients
Investigators: Arabi, Mazdak , Hunt, William F , Hoag, Dana LK , Bledsoe, Brian P. , Osmond, Deanna , Vrugt, Jasper , Silversrein, JoAnn , Sharvelle, Sybil
Institution: Colorado State University , University of Colorado at Boulder , North Carolina State University , University of California - Irvine
Current Institution: Colorado State University , North Carolina State University , University of California - Irvine , University of Colorado at Boulder
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: September 1, 2013 through August 31, 2018
Project Period Covered by this Report: September 1, 2016 through August 31,2017
Project Amount: $2,200,151
RFA: Centers for Water Research on National Priorities Related to a Systems View of Nutrient Management (2012) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Watersheds , Water
Objective:
The overall operational goal of theCenter for Comprehansive, optimaL, and Effective Abatement of Nutrients (CLEAN) Nutrient Center is to develop and demonstrate sustainable cost-effective nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) management strategies for restoring watershed systems and attaining designated uses. These sustainable solutions integrate abatement strategies for urban, agricultural, and hydro-geomorphic system components, and optimize policy instruments (incentives and market-based approaches) that facilitate trading among sectors, provide equity along water courses, increase chance of adoption, and minimize costs.
The Center’s research improves the nation’s capacity to protect the environment and public health by developing and testing practical and widely transferable modeling, data and decision support tools for risk and performance assessment of nutrient controls. The following describe the project specific research objectives:
Project 1: Achieving Nutrient Reductions Through Innovative Approaches for Wastewater Management and Water Demand Reduction
The overarching goal of this project is to assess the effects, costs, and likelihood of adoption of various nutrient management strategies relevant to water and wastewater management. Both management approaches, such as water reuse and source separation of urine among others, and wastewater treatment technologies for nutrient removal and recovery are evaluated. The project activities focus on exploring the efficacy of these approaches for nutrient removal, their cost effectiveness, reliability, and resiliency. Scale of application of wastewater treatment for reuse or discharge is a key consideration in the analysis. In addition, social and policy barriers for adoption of those approaches determined to be cost effective are assessed.
Project 2: Urban Stormwater Management: Evaluation of Simple Retrofits/Design Enhancements and Development of Simple Assessment Tools
The overall objective of this project is to compare the nutrient removal performance and life cycle costs of stormwater control measures (SCMs) using existing design criteria and innovative retrofit design enhancements to increase nutrient removal performance at various temporal resolutions. Three retrofits or design enhancements are investigated, including:
- Upflow filters retrofit at wet pond’s outlets to increase phosphorus sequestration;
- Inclusion of anoxic sumps to improve denitrification within bioretention; and
- Installation of stormwater harvesting system downstream of permeable pavement to reduce nutrient loads discharged to the storm sewer.
Project 3: Nutrient Reductions in Agricultural Watersheds: Intentional Planning, Implementation, and Maintenance
The overall goal of this project is to build innovative capacities for intentional, targeted implementation of agricultural conservation practices at the watershed scale in two distinct agroecological areas (humid North Carolina and semi-arid Colorado) that factor in cost and social acceptance. The three main objectives are to:
- Understand how effectiveness of agricultural BMPs for N and P control vary with the selected practices, their landscape position, physical characteristics of the farm, proximity to perennial streams, irrigation ditches, and other factors;
- Understand and characterize socioeconomic factors that influence (facilitate or impede) adoption of agricultural BMPs; and
- Develop a simple and practical model based on the SWAT model to evaluate water quality effects of agricultural practices at field, irrigation district, and watershed scales.
Project 4: Fluvial Instability and Riparian Degradation: Evaluating and Reducing Nutrient Loading From Channel-Riparian Interfaces
This project advances the scientific knowledge and assessment tools requisite to evaluate fluvial erosion processes and their effects on nutrient delivery via channel instability and degraded riparian functions. These capacities inform the benefits of stream restoration for watershed-scale nutrient management. Specific objectives of the project are to:
- Develop a framework and practical tools that will help managers assess the contributions of fluvial instability (bank erosion, incision, and riparian degradation) to excessive N and P loading under varying streamflow conditions relative to other nonpoint sources.
- Estimate the cost-effectiveness of diverse stream and riparian rehabilitation strategies.
- Evaluate the robustness, chance of adoption, and uncertainty of both conventional and innovative practices for reducing nutrient loading from channel-riparian interfaces in disturbed fluvial systems.
Project 5: Effective Incentives and Viable Trans-Sectoral Trading Strategies
The goal of this project is to understand how social factors and policies help or hinder the successful planning, management, and implementation of conservation practices, including best management practices and utility policies relating to nutrient controls. The objectives are to:
- Identify and quantify effective incentives for adoption of conservation practices and related management actions in utilities and public works agencies, and by other stakeholders; and
- Build context-appropriate approaches for nutrient credit trading programs in each pilot watershed.
Project 6: Nutrient Data, Analysis, and Modeling Dashboard
The goal of this project is to develop and disseminate a nationally applicable integrated data and modeling dashboard that can be used to: (1) identify major watersheds that account for N and P loads at scales reflecting the needs of communities, regulators, and managers, e.g., Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) 8 or similar scales; and (2) assess effects of nutrient abatement options and potential changes in land use and climate on a HUC 12 or similar scale. The objectives of the study are to:
- Develop a technologically scalable database and model integration framework.
- Demonstrate the applicability of the tool for identification of priority HUC 12 sub-watersheds within HUC 8 watersheds.
- Create capabilities for assessing management scenarios consisting of urban, agricultural, and hydro-geomorphic options for N and P reduction.
Project 7: Assessing Nutrient Management Tradeoff and Targets Under Uncertainty
The overall goal of this project is to develop and demonstrate an integrative and adaptive framework that enables the development of system-level optimal strategies for targeted implementation of N and P load reduction options on a HUC 12 (or similar scale). The framework facilitates assessing tradeoffs and targets associated with different nutrient management solutions. A stakeholder-centered decision support dashboard based on multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is developed and demonstrated to create insight about sustainability of alternative solutions with a system view of nutrient management.
Progress Summary:
Stakeholder/Community Engagement
A stakeholder workshop was conducted to disseminate the products of the Center. The workshop also enabled the team to understand priorities and preferences of the stakeholders for nutrient management, guidelines for data collection and design of assessment tools, and effective communication strategies.
Project 1: Achieving Nutrient Reductions through Innovative Approaches for Wastewater Management and Water Demand Reduction
- Water quality implications of water conservation at the wastewater treatment facilities and downstream receiving water bodies were assessed. The results were peer reviewed and are in press in the Environmental Engineering Science Journal.
- The cost-effectiveness of nutrient removal strategies at the wastewater treatment facilities were compared to stormwater treatment. The results are in preparation for publication.
- A case study was performed to examine the impacts of nutrient regulations on biosolids management, and to quantify the potential effects of reducing effluent concentrations and the subsequent impacts on increased phosphorous levels in biosolids.
- Assessment tools were developed to evaluate the likelihood of adoption of different water management practices and wastewater treatment technologies.
Project 2: Urban Stormwater Management: Evaluation of Simple Retrofits/Design Enhancements and Development of Simple Assessment Tools
- A nationally applicable tool was developed that enables estimation of nutrient loads in surface runoff from urban drainage systems with different land use categories.
- A method was developed and corroborated to estimate the percentage of urban areas that are likely to be treated by urban stormwater control systems.
- Bioretention cells with the proposed design enhancements were retrofitted in Cary, North Carolina, and Durham, North Carolina, and Fort Collins, Colorado.
- The retrofit cells were monitored and the benefits were evaluated.
Project 3: Nutrient Reductions in Agricultural Watersheds: Intentional Planning, Implementation, and Maintenance
- Water quality monitoring of the paired watersheds in North Carolina continued.
- A survey on fertilizer and conservation practice decision making was developed.
- An agricultural conservation practices evaluation tool based on the SWAT model was developed. The tool includes explicit options for edge of field conservation planning and is nationally applicable. Additional capacities were incorporated to enable assessments in irrigated agricultural systems.
- Livestock nutrient inputs in the South Platte River Basin were compiled and analyzed.
- Prominent cropping systems (i.e., crop rotations with various tillage, fertilization and irrigation baseline and BMP implemented scenarios) were developed for the South Platte River Basin.
- Agricultural conservation practices were implemented at the project demonstration field, including: conservation tillage and fertilizer placement.
- Nutrient and sediment levels in surface runoff and subsurface samples were evaluated from one storm event and four irrigation events at the Colorado demonstration field.
- The multi-year effects of practices on edge-of-field water quality were assessed.
Project 4: Fluvial Instability and Riparian Degradation: Evaluating and Reducing Nutrient Loading From Channel-Riparian Interfaces
- A numerical model was developed to simulate stream channel erosion and associated fine sediment and phosphorus loading.
- The performance validity of the model was examined in different regions across the United States.
Project 5: Effective Incentives and Viable Trans-Sectoral Trading Strategies
- Several social environmental justice indices were developed to explore social equity and shared-responsibility considerations in selection of nutrient control measures, policy instruments, and combinations thereof.
- Economic experiments were designed and conducted to evaluate cross-sectoral trading.
- Studies were conducted to assess viability of nutrient trading across the United States.
- The impact of relative individual ecosystem demand on stacking ecosystem credit markets was evaluated.
Project 6: Nutrient Data, Analysis, and Modeling Dashboard
- A nutrient management decision tool called “CLEAN Nutrient Management Dashboard” was developed to enable characterization of nutrient sources by sector and region.
- Demonstration watersheds were set up using the data and modeling information from projects 1-5 to create options for watershed prioritizations, nutrient TMDL analysis, and healthy watershed assessments.
- The technology was transferred to communities across Colorado, including the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, for testing.
- A load estimation tool was developed to enable assessment of ambient nutrient levels along a gradient of human activities (urban and agricultural).
- The USGS LOADEST load estimation tool was deployed as a web-tool.
Project 7: Assessing Nutrient Management Tradeoff and Targets Under Uncertainty
- System-level metrics were developed to facilitate integration of outputs from all sectors.
- Several outranking multi criteria decision analysis (MCDA) techniques (e.g., AHP and PROMETHE II) were encoded to enable selection of system-level nutrient management solutions at the system level.
- Methods were developed to propagate data and modeling uncertainties in the assessment of nutrient control measures in various sectors. The role of these uncertainties in the selection of system-level optimal strategies for nutrient control was examined.
Demonstration studies in the Big Dry Creek and Cache la Poudre River watersheds were conducted to identify technological and policy solutions that provide the greatest opportunities for nutrient reduction at the watershed scales. Social, economic and infrastructural barriers to sustainable nutrient management were explored.
Future Activities:
- Add components in the system-level decision support tool for attainability analysis, regulation compliance, and TMDL planning and implementation.
- Assess system-level effects of nutrient control systems under land use change, population growth, extreme climatic events, and climate variability and change.
- Conduct synthesis studies to understand critical natural processes and key management actions that control fate and transport of nutrients in watersheds under deep uncertainty about future conditions.
- Write final reports for demonstration studies in Colorado and North Carolina.
- Broadly disseminate the nutrient data and modeling dashboard for the United States.
- Conduct a nutrient management workshop in Colorado to discuss the Center activities beyond the initial 5-year project period.
- Submit journal articles summarizing the outcomes and outputs of the projects.
Journal Articles: 38 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other center views: | All 137 publications | 38 publications in selected types | All 36 journal articles |
|---|
| Type | Citation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Hoag DLK, Arabi M, Osmond D, Ribaudo M, Motallebi M, Tasdighi A. Policy utopias for nutrient credit trading programs with nonpoint sources. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 2017;53(3):514-520. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Hoag, D. C. Goemans, and T. Orlando, Sustainable policies that align irrigation and water quality, Special Issue:The Future of Water in the West, Western Economic Forum, 16(1):54. |
R835570 (Final) |
Exit |
|
|
Johnson JP, Hunt WF. Evaluating the spatial distribution of pollutants and associated maintenance requirements in an 11 year-old bioretention cell in urban Charlotte, NC. Journal of Environmental Management 2016;184(Pt 2):363-370. |
R835570 (2016) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Johnson JP, Hunt WF. Evaluating the spatial distribution of pollutants and associated maintenance requirements in an 11 year-old bioretention cell in urban Charlotte, NC. Journal of Environmental Management 2016;184(2):363-370. |
R835570 (2017) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Johnson JP, Hunt WF. Evaluating the spatial distribution of pollutants and associated maintenance requirements in an 11 year-old bioretention cell in urban Charlotte, NC. Journal of Environmental Management 2016;184(Pt 2):363-370. |
R835570 (2016) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Kohler LE, Silverstein J, Rajagopalan B. Modeling on-site wastewater treatment system performance fragility to hydroclimate stressors. Water Science and Technology 2016;74(12):2917-2926. |
R835570 (2016) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Kohler LE, Silverstein J, Rajagopalan B. Modeling on-site wastewater treatment system performance fragility to hydroclimate stressors. Water Science & Technology 2016;74(12):2917-2926. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Lammers RW, Bledsoe BP, Langendoen EJ. Uncertainty and sensitivity in a bank stability model: implications for estimating phosphorus loading. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2016 [Epub ahead of print], doi:10.1002/esp.4004. |
R835570 (Final) |
Exit |
|
|
Lammers RW, Bledsoe BP, Langendoen EJ. Uncertainty and sensitivity in a bank stability model: implications for estimating phosphorus loading. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2017;42(4):612-623. |
R835570 (2016) R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit |
|
|
Lammers RW, Bledsoe BP. What role does stream restoration play in nutrient management? Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology 2017;47(6):335-371. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit |
|
|
Lammers RW, Bledsoe BP. Parsimonious sediment transport equations based on Bagnold’s stream power approach. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 2018;43(1):242–258. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
McKenna A, Silverstein J, Sharvelle S, Hodgson B. Modeled Response of Wastewater Nutrient Treatment to Indoor Water Conservation. Environmental Engineering Science 2017;35(5) |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit |
|
|
Motallebi M, O’Connell C, Hoag DL, Osmond DL. Role of conservation adoption premiums on participation in water quality trading programs. Water 2016;8(6):245 (13 pp.). |
R835570 (2016) R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Motallebi M, Hoag DL, Tasdighi A, Arabi M, Osmond DL. An economic inquisition of water quality trading programs, with a case study of Jordan Lake, NC. Journal of Environmental Management 2017;193:483-490. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Motallebi M, Hoag DL, Tasdighi A, Arabi M, Osmond DL, Boone RB. The impact of relative individual ecosystem demand on stacking ecosystem credit markets. Ecosystem Services 2018;29(Part A):137-144. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Mueller Price JS, Baker DW, Bledsoe BP. Effects of passive and structural stream restoration approaches on transient storage and nitrate uptake. River Research and Applications 2016;32(7):1542-1554. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit |
|
|
O'Connell C, Motallebi M, Osmond DL, Hoag DL. Trading on Risk: the moral logics and economic reasoning of North Carolina farmers in water quality trading markets. Economic Anthropology 2017;4(2):225-238. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit |
|
|
Records RM, Wohl E, Arabi M. Phosphorus in the river corridor. Earth-Science Reviews 2016;158:65-88. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit |
|
|
Rosburg TT, Nelson PA, Sholtes JS, Bledsoe BP. The effect of flow data resolution on sediment yield estimation and channel design. Journal of Hydrology 2016;538:429–439,. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Rosburg TT, Nelson PA, Bledsoe BP. Effects of urbanization on flow duration and stream flashiness: a case study of Puget Sound streams, western Washington, USA. Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 2017;53(2):493-507. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit |
|
|
Sharp MD, Hoag DLK, Bailey RT, Romero EC, Gates TK. Institutional constraints on cost‐effective water management: selenium contamination in Colorado's lower Arkansas River Valley. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 2016;52(6):1420-1432. |
R835570 (2016) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit |
|
|
Stroth TR, Bledsoe BP, Nelson PA. Full spectrum analytical channel design with the Capacity/Supply Ratio (CSR). Water 2017;9(4):271. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Suchetana B, Rajagopalan B, Silverstein J. Hierarchical modeling approach to evaluate spatial and temporal variability of wastewater treatment compliance with biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, and ammonia limits in the United States. Environmental Engineering Science 2016;33(7):514-524. |
R835570 (2016) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Suchetana B, Rajagopalan B, Silverstein J. Hierarchical modeling approach to evaluate spatial and temporal variability of wastewater treatment compliance with biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, and ammonia limits in the United States. Environmental Engineering Science 2016;33(7):514-524. |
R835570 (2014) R835570 (2017) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Suchetana B, Rajagopalan B, Silverstein J. Hierarchical modeling approach to evaluate spatial and temporal variability of wastewater treatment compliance with biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, and ammonia limits in the United States. Environmental Engineering Science 2016;33(7):514-524. |
R835570 (2016) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Suchetana B, Rajagopalan B, Silverstein J. Assessment of wastewater treatment facility compliance with decreasing ammonia discharge limits using a regression tree model. Science of the Total Environment 2017;598:249-257. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Suchetana B, Rajagopalan B, Silverstein J. Modeling Total Inorganic Nitrogen in Treated Wastewater Using Non-Homogeneous Hidden Markov and Multinomial Logistic Regression Models. Science of the Total Environment 2019;46:625-633. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit |
|
|
Wei, X., Bailey, R., Records, Wible, T., Arabi, M. Comprehensive simulation of nitrate transport in coupled surface-subsurface hydrologic systems using the linked SWAT-MODFLOW-RT3D model, Environmental Modeling & Software 2018 . |
R835570 (Final) |
Exit |
|
|
Weirich SR, Silverstein J, Rajagopalan B. Resilience of secondary wastewater treatment plants:prior performance is predictive of future process failure and recovery time. Environmental Engineering Science 2015;32(3):222-231. |
R835570 (2014) R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Weirich SR, Silverstein J, Rajagopalan B. Simulation of effluent biological oxygen demand and ammonia for increasingly decentralized networks of wastewater treatment facilities. Environmental Engineering Science 2015;32(3):232-239. |
R835570 (2014) R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit Exit |
|
|
Weirich SR, Silverstein J, Rajagopalan B. Simulation of effluent BOD Ammonia for Increasingly Decentralized Networks of Wastewater Treatment Facilities. Environmental Engineering Science 2015;32(3):232-239. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit |
|
|
Williams RE, Arabi M, Loftis J, Elmund GK. Monitoring design for assessing compliance with numeric nutrient standards for rivers and streams using geospatial variables. Journal of Environmental Quality 2014;43(5):1713-1724. |
R835570 (2016) R835570 (Final) |
Exit |
|
|
Winston RJ, Hunt WF, Pluer WT. Nutrient and sediment reduction through upflow filtration of stormwater retention pond effluent. Journal of Environmental Engineering 2017;143(5):06017002. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit Exit |
|
|
Wohl EE, Bledsoe BP, Jacobson RB, Poff NL, Rathburn SL, Walters D, Wilcox AC. The Natural Sediment Regime in Rivers:Broadening the Foundation for Ecosystem Management. Bioscience 2015; 65(4):358–371 |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit |
|
|
Hodgson B, Sharvelle S, Silverstein j, McKenna A. Impact of Water Management Strategies on Wastewater Effluent Nutrient Discharge and Receiving Water Quality. Environmental Engineering Science 2017;35(6). |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit |
|
|
Lammers RW, Bledsoe BP. A Network Scale, Intermediate Complexity Model for Stimulating Channel Evolution Over Years to Decades. Journal of Hydrology 2018;566:886-900. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit |
|
|
Tasdighi A, Arabi M, Harmel D, Line D. A Bayesian total uncertainty analysis framework for assessment of management practices using watershed models, Environmental Modelling and Software. Environmental Modeling & Software 2018;108:240-252. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit |
|
|
Tasdighi A, Arabi M, Harmel D. A probabilistic appraisal of rainfall-runoff modeling approaches within SWAT in mixed land use watersheds. Journal of Hydrology 2018;564:476-489. |
R835570 (2017) R835570 (Final) |
Exit |
Supplemental Keywords:
Nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus, impaired water body, prioritization, multi criteria decision analysis, modeling, credit trading, economics, incentives, policy, socioeconomic, feasibility, institutional analysis, graywater, ANNOMOX, stormwater management, best management practice, agricultural conservation practices, stream restoration, cost-benefit analysis, intentional watershed planning, targeted BMP implementation, pollution, eutrophication, denitrification, channel evolutionRelevant Websites:
- The CLEAN Center Exit
- Zotero Exit
- Colorado Agriculture Nutrient Clearinghouse Exit
- eRAMS Watershed Rapid Assessment Program (WRAP) Exit
- eRAMS CDPHE Tool Exit
- ERAP Tool Overview Video Exit
- CLEAN Nutrient Dashboard Video Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.