Science Inventory

Pathogen Transport and Fate Modeling in the Upper Salem River Watershed using SWAT Model

Citation:

Niazi, M. Pathogen Transport and Fate Modeling in the Upper Salem River Watershed using SWAT Model. Presented at American Water Resources Association (AWRA 2012), Annual Water Resources Conference, Jacksonville, FL, November 12 - 15, 2012.

Impact/Purpose:

To use SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) to simulate pathogen fate and transport and as a tool to evaluate different management practices in order to reduce pathogen loding to the river.

Description:

SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) is a dynamic watershed model that is applied to simulate the impact of land management practices on water quality over a continuous period. The Upper Salem River, located in Salem County New Jersey, is listed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection as a pathogen impaired surface water. The contributing watershed is 37 km2 and predominantly agricultural. The overall goal of this research is to use SWAT to simulate pathogen fate and transort, as a tool to evaluate different management practices in order to reduce pathogen loading to the river. This effort was the first watershed modeling attempt using SWAT to successfully simulate two pathogen indicators (E. coli and fecal coliform) simultaneously. Hydrologic calibration and validation results at six sampling points show a good (Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency 0.65E. coli. Monthly calibration and validation of the pathogen transport model was conducted for both fecal (0.07E. coli (0.03E. coli and fecal coliform modeling and will help increase the understanding of sensitivity analysis and pathogen modeling with SWAT at the watershed scale.

Record Details:

Record Type:DOCUMENT( PRESENTATION/ ABSTRACT)
Product Published Date:11/12/2012
Record Last Revised:02/28/2013
OMB Category:Other
Record ID: 251945