Non-Point Source Nutrient Loading in an Urban Watershed

Abstract

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) passed the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) in 1972 which set the framework for the water quality standards for the entire United States. As a result of the CWA many point sources were eliminated, but in the process it became apparent that non-point source loads represented even more of a threat. To further study the physical and chemical characteristics of urban runoff the Nationwide Urban Runoff Program (NURP) was established in 1978. This lead to series of management options, named Best Management Practices (BMPs) which proposed various structural and non-structural methods to reduce nutrient loads. The present study attempts to generate accurate and effective water quality and quantity data that future stormwater management decisions can be based upon. The main objective of this study is to determine the nutrient loadings into the tributaries of Lake Tohopekaliga, using automatic monitoring sites established throughout the City of Kissimmee, Florida. These monitoring sites were located to monitor subbasins within the watershed such that inflows from outside the city limits can be isolated and external pollutant loads quantified. Additional internal monitoring sites were established to determine the pollutant loads of sections within the city.