Runoff Ramblings

Dr. Josh McGrath (University of Maryland) and I have started a blog on the step-by-step design and construction of a phosphorus removal structure, which is essentially a large landscape filter.  The motivation for this technology is that phosphorus is typically the most limiting nutrient in surface waters, and therefore eutrophication.  Location of the blog: http://p-structure.blogspot.com The purpose of that blog is to provide a case-study example of designing and constructing a phosphorus (P) removal structure, step by step.  A P removal structure is intended to filter dissolved P (DP) from runoff using industrial by-products, before the runoff reaches a surface water body. ...

How do you estimate sediment and nutrient load reduction benefits associated with stream restoration and keep your sanity, self-respect and professional integrity? This was a question posed to a Panel of Experts brought together by the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) and jointly facilitated by the Center for Watershed Protection and Chesapeake Stormwater Network. The CBP uses an expert panel process to review and update the sediment and nutrient removal performance of Best Management Practices to provide “planning level” estimates in meeting load reduction targets established by the sediment and nutrient TMDLs for the Bay. The Stream Restoration Panel of Experts was...

  About a year ago, I wrote in the Center’s Runoff Ramblings about some thoughts on green infrastructure… Before "Green Infrastructure," there was low impact design, environmentally sensitive site design, conservation design, smart growth, and new urbanism. These concepts are certainly not all synonymous with each other, but they do share similar tenets of reduced environmental impacts…The different definitions of Green Infrastructure have been at the center of this morass. Recently, EPA defined green infrastructure as "an approach to wet weather management that is cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly" (retrieved on December 27, 2011 from (http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=298). The traditional use of the...