Reducing nonpoint sources of nutrients via non-traditional approaches
Citation:
Rea, A., T. Gleason, W. Munns, Marty Chintala, K. Mulvaney, S. Horsley, Z. Crocker, AND S. Van Drunick. Reducing nonpoint sources of nutrients via non-traditional approaches. SETAC Europe 29th Annual Meeting, Helsinki, N/A, FINLAND, May 26 - 30, 2019.
Impact/Purpose:
Communities in the U.S. are seeking innovative and cost-effective approaches to manage nutrient loading from nonpoint sources in ways that improve environmental and societal conditions. This project focuses on providing watershed-based solutions for nonpoint source nutrient loading that can support communities across the United States and beyond. Feedback and information gathered at the Nutrients Translational Science Pilot Problem Formulation Workshop will be presented, as well as ongoing stakeholder engagement activities.
Description:
Communities in the U.S. are seeking innovative and cost-effective approaches to manage nutrient loading from nonpoint sources in ways that improve environmental and societal conditions. This project focuses on providing watershed-based solutions for nonpoint source nutrient loading that can support communities across the United States and beyond. Our primary objective is to test nationally-relevant approaches for managing nonpoint source nutrient pollution in partnership with the Barnstable Clean Water Coalition (BCWC), a non-governmental organization located in the Three Bays watershed on Cape Cod, MA where nonpoint source nutrient loading is a significant problem. Resolving this issue through installation of public sewer systems, while technologically feasible, is extremely expensive due to the distribution, density, and seasonality of the population on Cape Cod. To best address nutrient pollution in an efficient and economic manner requires understanding the waterbody and its associated watershed and designing tailored management controls. The BCWC is promoting nature-based solutions to reduce nutrient loadings that will achieve its water quality goals quickly and cost-effectively. Objectives for BCWC in this partnership include: 1) solving the nutrient problem in Three Bays in a sustainable and affordable manner; 2) becoming a recognized national model for addressing non-point nutrient management; and 3) becoming a center for education and outreach to support other communities as they address issues of nonpoint source nutrient management. This project supports BCWC and other stakeholders in meeting their goals for restoration and water quality in a manner that is transferable to other systems nationwide. This research contributes directly to the monitoring (performance evaluation of interventions and quantification of corresponding watershed-level responses), modeling (best placement of interventions on the landscape, and effect of interventions on estuarine waterbodies), restoration (cranberry bog test systems and freshwater pond restoration), and social science (economic valuation associated with clean water and tourism; acceptance of various interventions; data visualization and science translation) needs of BCWC to achieve comprehensive and watershed-scale solutions to nonpoint source nutrient loading. Feedback and information gathered at the Problem Formulation Workshop will be presented, as well as ongoing stakeholder engagement activities.