Progress 10/01/01 to 09/30/07

Outputs
OUTPUTS: SWAT was examined as a tool for developing TMDLs for agriculturally dominated and mixed land use watersheds. Funding from NJDEP's 319h Program was used to develop models for several watershed restoration plans and examine the sensitivity of these models. Additional models including HSPF, GWLF, WinSLAMM and MIKE SHE were also examined for use in watershed restoration plans. These efforts have allowed for the training of three master's students and three doctorate students. As the chair of the TMDL Advisory Panel to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), I led Rutgers' efforts to assist the NJDEP in developing phosphorus TMDLs for the Raritan Basin and Passaic River Watershed. PARTICIPANTS: Josef Kardos, Steve Yergeau and Mehran Niazi are Ph.D. students who are being trained on this project. Katie Giacalone, Sandra Goodrow, Lisa Evrard, Gregory Rusciano, Sean Walsh, and Robert Miskewitz are also participating in this effort. Partner organizations include NRCS, the Salem-Cumberland Soil Conservation District, the North Jersey RC&D, and the New Jersey Water Supply Authority. Additional NJDEP has been a big partner in these efforts along with various watershed groups. TARGET AUDIENCES: Regulators and modelers have been the main target audience. Extension programs have been implemented to education these target audiences. This will enable them to better incorporate the latest research into the preparation of TMDLs. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: None.

Impacts
The modeling for the watershed restoration plans will directly impact over 120 square miles of watershed in New Jersey, which includes portions of five counties and fifteen municipalities. These plans will provide cost effective recommendations to reduce phosphorus and fecal coliform loads to levels that will achieve water quality criteria. The completion of these plans will result in incremental 319h funds becoming available for implementation of these projects. The TMDLs for the Raritan Basin and Passaic Basins will result in cleaner water. These basins provide drinking water to over 4 million people.

Publications

• Rusciano, G.M. and C.C. Obropta. July 2007. An Evaluation of the Ability of Bioretention Columns to Manage Fecal Coliform Bacteria. Transactions of American Society of Agriculture and Biological Engineers (ASABE), Vol. 50 (4).
• Obropta, C.C. and P.L. Kallin. September 2007. Case Study: The Restoration of an Urban Flood Plain in Rahway, New Jersey. Ecological Restoration.
• Obropta, C.C. and J. Kardos. December 2007. Review of Urban Stormwater Quality Models: Deterministic, Stochastic and Hybrid Approaches. The Journal of the American Water Resources Association.
• Buckley, K.A., Obropta, C.C., and Miskewitz, R.J. October 2007. Harrow Run: Use of Vegetation to Mitigate Nutrient Discharges in Container Nursery Runoff. Transactions of the Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Volume 50(5) 1517-1523.

Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06

Outputs
SWAT continues to be examined as a tool for developing TMDLs for agriculturally dominated and mixed land use watersheds. Funding has been obtained from NJDEP's 319h Program to complete several watershed restoration plans. These studies have provided additional data to examine scale implications of SWAT as well as other models such as HSPF and GWLF. Although initial investigations have shown that calibration of models on the HUC14 scale can be completed, these models lack sensitivity at the sub-basin scale, making it difficult to prioritize areas for management practices. Additional data collected through the development of the watershed restoration plans can be used to help refine loading predictions and prioritize management practices. Both undergraduate and graduate students have been incorporated into the watershed restoration planning efforts and TMDL modeling efforts. This effort has expanded over the past year with a stronger commitment to train tomorrow's water resources professionals. This past year, I served as chair of the S1004 group. A strong effort was made this year to spend more time sharing ideas across the many states involved in this project. Efforts were also put forth to encourage multi-institutional collaborations on TMDL related research projects. The S1004 group also reached out to the 406 funded National Water Program to better integrate our efforts with this network. I continue to serve as the chair of the TMDL Advisory Panel to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). This Panel continues to work with NJDEP to improve the quality of the TMDL being produced by New Jersey. The focus of this group has been preparing TMDL to address phosphorus impairments of lakes and streams in New Jersey.

Impacts
The watershed restoration plans will directly impact over 55 square miles of watershed in New Jersey, which includes portions of three counties and ten municipalities. These plans will provide cost effective recommendations to reduce phosphorus and fecal coliform loads to levels that will achieve water quality criteria. The completion of these plans will result in incremental 319h funds becoming available for implementation of these projects.

Publications

• Yagow, G., B. Wilson, P. Srivastava, and C.C. Obropta. 2006. Use of Biological Indicators in TMDL Assessment and Implementation. Transactions of the ASABE 49(4): 1023-1032.

Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05

Outputs
SWAT has been examined as a potential tool for developing TMDL for agriculturally dominated watersheds in New Jersey. Various sensitivity analyses are being completed to determine if the time scale of the model small enough to be used to generate model simulations that can be used to set a TMDL for a "not to exceed at any time" phosphorus criterion. Additionally, a literature review has been performed to determine if other models are more suitable to simulate nonpoint source runoff from mixed use watersheds. Regional stormwater management plans have been developed and examined for use as a TMDL implementation tool. In New Jersey, regional stormwater management plans are adopted by the State and incorporated into regulations. This would require municipalities to comply with the requirements of the plans. Once again, sensitivity analyses are being performed to determine if the regional plans have the accuracy to be used to address stream reach specific problems (i.e., TMDL issues). A TMDL Advisory Panel of nine faculty members from several universities in New Jersey has been created to provide input to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) TMDL process. By providing unbiased technical advice to the NJDEP, the Panel decreases the uncertainty in the TMDL. The Panel explores various methodologies for developing TMDLs and brings the newest research techniques into the process.

Impacts
The TMDL Advisory Panel has provided technical support to scientifically justify model assumptions made by the NJDEP so that TMDL's have been more easily adopted. The Regional Plans have resulted in collaboration among several municipalities that share a common waterway, resulting in implementation of TMDL recommendations in a cost-effective manner. The Regional Plans that are being developed by Rutgers address over 50 square miles of watersheds in New Jersey, which includes portions of 20 municipalities and four counties.

Publications

• Obropta, C.C, J. Cavazzoni and W. Goldfarb, 2005. TMDL Advisory Panel to the State of New Jersey: Academic Expertise Supporting Regulatory Requirements. In: Proceedings of TMDL 2005 Conference, Water Environment Federation, June 26-29, 2005, Philadelphia, PA.
• Chowdhury, M.J., C.C. Obropta and P.F. Strom, 2005. Nonpoint Source Phosphorus Contribution from Nurseries in the Upper Cohansey Watershed, New Jersey. In: Proceedings of TMDL 2005 Conference, Water Environment Federation, June 26-29, 2005, Philadelphia, PA.
• Obropta, C.C. and S.M. Goodrow, 2005. The Regional Stormwater Management Plan: A TMDL Implementation Tool. In: Proceedings of the Third Conference on Watershed Management to Meet Water Quality Standards and Emerging TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load), American Society of Agricultural Engineers, March 5-9, 2005, Atlanta, GA.
• Cavazzoni, J. and C.C. Obropta, 2005. Advisory Panel to the State of New Jersey in Support of Watershed Restoration through the TMDL Process. In: Proceedings of the Third Conference on Watershed Management to Meet Water Quality Standards and Emerging TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load), American Society of Agricultural Engineers, March 5-9, 2005, Atlanta, GA.
• Obropta, C.C., E. Althouse and D. Lord, 2005. Case Study: Restoration Efforts in the Pompston Creek Watershed, New Jersey. In: Proceedings of 2005 UCOWR/NIWR Annual Conference: River and Lake Restoration: Changing Landscapes, University Council on Water Resources and the National Institutes for Water Resources, July 12-14, 2005, Portland, ME.

Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04

Outputs
An analysis of SWAT is currently underway to examine its ability to simulate a small (32 square mile) agricultural dominated watershed, primarily nursery operations. The model will be calibrated and verified using data collected over the last three years. The model will be used to develop a TMDL and identify agricultural management practices that can be incorporated into the TMDL implementation plan. Additionally, regional stormwater management plans are being developed to determine their viability as a TMDL implementation tool.

Impacts
Presently, New Jersey is struggling with modeling agricultural dominated watershed and developing cost effective TMDL implementation plans. This project will assist the State in developing TMDL for agriculturally dominated watersheds that are based on good science.

Publications

• No publications reported this period