Application of an Environmental Decision Support System to a Water Quality Trading Program Affected by Surface Water Diversions

Abstract

Environmental decision support systems (EDSSs) are an emerging tool used to integrate the evaluation of highly complex and interrelated physicochemical, biological, hydrological, social, and economic aspects of environmental problems. An EDSS approach is developed to address hot-spot concerns for a water quality trading program intended to implement the total maximum daily load (TMDL) for phosphorus in the Non-Tidal Passaic River Basin of New Jersey. Twenty-two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) spread throughout the watershed are considered the major sources of phosphorus loading to the river system. Periodic surface water diversions to a major reservoir from the confluence of two key tributaries alter the natural hydrology of the watershed and must be considered in the development of a trading framework that ensures protection of water quality. An EDSS is applied that enables the selection of a water quality trading framework that protects the watershed from phosphorus-induced hot spots. The EDSS employs Simon's (1960) three stages of the decision-making process: intelligence, design, and choice. The identification of two potential hot spots and three diversion scenarios enables the delineation of three management areas for buying and selling of phosphorus credits among WWTPs. The result shows that the most conservative option entails consideration of two possible diversion scenarios, and trading between management areas is restricted accordingly. The method described here is believed to be the first application of an EDSS to a water quality trading program that explicitly accounts for surface water diversions.

Equitable fund allocation, an economical approach for sustainable waste load allocation

“…In Chesapeake Bay watershed, Nishizawa (2003) discussed the potential benefits of effluent trading. In non-tidal Passaic River basin of New Jersey, the phosphorous trading discharge permit (TDP) market is assessed using an environmental decision support system (Obropta et al 2008). O'Grady (2011) studied TDP in a case of South Nation River watershed in Ontario to emphasize on the conditions of a successful market.…”

A Review of Surface Water Quality Models

“…Up to date, tens of types of water quality models including hundreds of model softwares have been developed for different topography, water bodies, and pollutants at different space and time scales [3, 9]. However, there are often big differences between these modeling results due to different theories and algorithms of these models, which can lead to the insistency of the predicted results using different models, and thus bringing different environment management decisions as these modeling results cannot be referred or compared to each other [10]. …”

Coupled Hydrodynamic-Water Quality Model for Pollution Control Scenarios in El-Burullus Lake (Nile Delta, Egypt)

“…However, the results often show considerable variance due to the differing theories and algorithms used in the models. The modeling results cannot be reliably compared to each other and the inconsistent findings support differing environmental management options (Obropta et al, 2008). The goal of the present study is to make a start in modeling the hydrodynamics and the water quality in El-Burullus Lake.…”