1. Tom Singleton Associate VP, Director, Integrated Water Resources an Atkins company Linking TMDLs & Environmental Restoration

2. Presentation Overview Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) – state-wide water quality conditions Sustainable water resource management – definition Model world & reality – need to link water quality benefits with management actions – not all loads are equal Science & engineering – it takes both Uniqueness of place – the right projects in the right places

3. 1160 Impaired Waters 46% nutrients 48% bacteria 16.8 million acres or 26,000 square miles of impaired watersheds $100-200 billion to restore water quality (FSA 2010)

4. Sustainable Water Resource Management Water Supply Water Quality Natural Systems Built Environment Flooding Comprehensively managing the highly complex relationships between communities & the land & water resources that sustain them

5. Most models overstate loads Especially run-off volume – SCS curve number developed to size pipes not estimate annual runoff Assume entire load reaches receiving water – fail to consider volume & pollutant attenuation within the watershed Delivery ratio: – fraction of runoff that reaches receiving water – as low as 8% due to high internal storage in lakes & wetlands, especially in headwaters of watersheds Need to reality test model estimates Source: Harvey Harper, FSA 2010

6. Insufficient information to properly characterize pollutants & select BMPs Untreated stormwater – dissolved species – nutrients, heavy metals – particulates – suspended solids, nutrients, heavy metals End of pipe runoff – doesn’t account for pre-treatment & characteristics of runoff reaching the receiving water Need to verify loading conditions before selection & design of BMPs – inexpensive field verification monitoring Source: Harvey Harper, FSA 2010

7. Need to link water quality benefits with management actions What is working, where it is working, & why it is working Need to be able to distinguish between successful & unsuccessful management strategies: – water quality benefits realized, but not predicted by models – water quality benefits predicted by models, but not realized Critical to document success: – past management actions are working – reasonable expectation that ongoing & planned management actions will lead to the restoration of water quality in due time

8. Need to link water quality benefits with management actions Document water quality benefits of past management actions – review existing water quality & biological indicator status & trend reports – compare with pollutant loading model output to determine if changes in modeled loads are reflected in water chemistry – identify successful & unsuccessful management strategies (what) – identify where water quality assessments & models are accurately reflecting no trends, improving trends, or degrading trends (where) – identify the causes of disagreement between the assessments & the models – credit for load reductions & water quality restoration

9. Not all nutrient loads are equal Stormwater & wastewater – differ in makeup, concentrations, & impacts – stimulate different amounts of biological productivity – yet, treated the same for most loading models

10. Nutrient Sources & Biological Productivity Wastewater: – low volume, high concentration (up to 20 mg TN/liter), mostly inorganic – highly stimulating in both form of delivery & composition Stormwater runoff: – high volume, moderate concentration (1-2 mg TN/liter), mostly organic – moderately stimulating in form of delivery & composition Direct atmospheric deposition: – high volume, low concentration, mostly inorganic – least stimulating in form of delivery & composition Conclusion: – a pound reduction of N from wastewater is worth more than a pound reduction of N from stormwater or atmospheric deposition

11. Water Quality Trading Although expensive, wastewater reductions: –easier & less expensive per pound to implement & the benefits are much greater & easier to account for than nonpoint source reductions –can be used to offset nonpoint source load reductions Example: Clay County Utility Authority –credits for construction of 2 advanced wastewater treatment plants & efficient operation of 2 other secondary treatment facilities that produce treated effluent below the TMDL target concentrations for domestic wastewater facilities –transfers up to 49,579 lb/year of TN in water quality credits from the Authority to offset the County’s required nonpoint source load reduction of 48,159 lb/year of TN

12. Water Quality Trading Credits valued at $186.25 per pound of TN removed: –$45,160,233 cost of Authority projects / 242,467 lb TN removed by the projects per year –credit price is adjusted annually to cover the cost to Authority of carrying the debt –total value of credits: $8,083,250 (43,400 lb/yr TN x $186.25) Win-Win-Win: –Authority: approx. 20% of wastewater improvements funded by County’s stormwater program –County: cost-effective & achievable load reductions –State: restored water quality

13. Sustainable Water Resource Management Comprehensively managing water across diverse watersheds: respecting the “uniqueness of place” Molecular structure of a diamond

14. Winter Haven: conditions driving wq & biological response

15. Proposed interim water quality targets & restoration project types for WHCL based on EPA’s Numeric Nutrient Criteria

17. Science & Engineering AnalyzeDesignConstructObserve Need sound science to have sound engineering and planning

18. Thank you! Tom Singleton 850-580-7929 tlsingleton@pbsj.com an Atkins company