Urban and agricultural nutrient event mean concentration and export load data for watershed quality assessment models

Saeid Nazari, Lindell Ormsbee

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

One of the most challenging inputs for the models that estimate pollutant load in watershed outlets, is quantifying the values of nutrient event mean concentration (EMC) or the export load released from different landuses. Many studies have measured pollutant loads from agricultural or urban landuses and majority of them have focused on total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) pollutant loading into watershed in a specific region. In some cases, the EMC or export load values reported in each of the studies have a wide range of magnitude for a specific landuse. The sources of the difference in the pollutant loading values for each of the landuses could be due to the region and physical characteristics (e.g. slope and soil type) of watershed, methods of measuring EMCs and loads, the number of samples taken from watershed outlet and rainfall intensity. This paper summarizes and combines some published EMC and load values separately categorized for urban and agricultural lanuses. Then, for each of the landuses, a box and whisker or statistic plots were created using median EMC and load values, which are reported in different literatures. Because the results of this study are supposed to be used as an input for Kentucky Nutrient Model (KYNM), the studies that report EMC and load values in State of Kentucky were incorporated in the data as much as possible. The provided range of EMC and load values could be very useful for the users of water quality models who need to have a holistic idea of pollutant magnitude released from each landuse in watershed outlets.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationWorld Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2017
Subtitle of host publicationWatershed Management, Irrigation and Drainage, and Water Resources Planning and Management - Selected Papers from the World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2017
EditorsBrian Van Weele, Christopher N. Dunn
Pages273-282
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)9780784480601
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017
Event17th World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2017 - Sacramento, United States
Duration: May 21 2017May 25 2017

Publication series

NameWorld Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2017: Watershed Management, Irrigation and Drainage, and Water Resources Planning and Management - Selected Papers from the World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2017

Conference

Conference17th World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2017
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySacramento
Period5/21/175/25/17

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© ASCE.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Environmental Science

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