Assessment of Surface Water Model Maintenance and Support Status
Citation:
Tech, T., A. Allen, B. Cope, J. Corona, J. Gildea, A. Gossel, JohnM Johnston, P. Rana, B. Rashleigh, T. Shaikh, AND T. Wool. Assessment of Surface Water Model Maintenance and Support Status. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-18/270, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
Surface water quality models are critically important tools for managing our nation's surface waters. Quantitative models help local communities and environmental managers better understand how surface waters change in response to pollution and how to protect them. Water quality specialists use models for many purposes: assessing water quality conditions and causes of impairment; predicting how surface waters will respond to changes in their watersheds and the environment (e.g., future growth, climate change); developing Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES) permits; and forecasting quantitative benefits of new surface water protection policies. This report summarizes a review of the maintenance and support status of 18 separate surface water modeling applications that are currently applied at EPA. The review will guide users on model selection, and provide the basis for future surface water model developments at the Agency.
Description:
The United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Water Modeling Workgroup (WMW) provides support for core surface water quality modeling tools used in Clean Water Act programs. The WMW identified a set of 18 separate surface water modeling applications that are currently applied to support development of Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plans, assess permit conditions for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) facilities, evaluate policy and water quality effects of potential actions, and conduct other water quality analyses. The WMW directed Tetra Tech to perform an assessment of the current maintenance and support status of each modeling tool to facilitate the identification of gaps in support or other activities that might warrant future WMW activity. This report summarizes the findings of Tetra Tech’s review of the maintenance and support status of the following modeling applications.