Multimodel, Multiple Watershed Examination of In-Stream Bacteria Modeling

• Published in: Journal of environmental engineering (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 139; no. 5; pp. 719 - 727
• Main Authors: Iudicello, Jeffrey J, Chin, David A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Reston, VA American Society of Civil Engineers 01.05.2013
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Continental surface waters; Exact sciences and technology; Natural water pollution; Pollution; Technical Papers; Water treatment and pollution; Transport process; HSPF; Watershed; Water quality; Watersheds; Fecal coliform; Bacteria; Stream; Soil and water assessment tool (SWAT); Coliforms; Modeling
• ISSN: 0733-9372; 1943-7870
• DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0000670

AbstractExcessive bacteria levels are a major water-quality problem in U.S. water bodies, and this study looked at the use of watershed-scale computer models to predict in-stream bacteria concentrations. The study site was the Little River Experimental Watershed (LREW) in Tifton, Georgia, and fecal coliform fate and transport models were built for four of the LREW subwatersheds over the period January 1996–December 2002. Three models were examined: HSPF, the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT), and the characteristic concentration (CC) model based on the principles of hydrograph separation. It was found that the most sensitive HSPF and SWAT water-quality parameters were associated with the in-stream bacteria processes, whereas parameters relating to terrestrial activity varied from sensitive to completely insensitive. Model performance was evaluated using the Nash–Sutcliffe statistic, and HSPF, SWAT, and the CC model performed comparably while showing distinct performance capabilities.