Establishing Seasonal Targets for Receiving Waters: Rethinking Wet Weather versus Dry Weather Expectations

There are many regulations and practices in place to protect waterbodies. However, it is not clear that these existing approaches are the most suitable for wet weather flows. This project will (1) evaluate the implications of wet weather conditions on permitting and pollutant load reduction targets as a baseline for future studies; (2) summarize the currently available tools and study results evaluating watershed pollutant loads and receiving water responses under a range of wet weather and dry weather conditions; and (3) generate recommendations for wet weather target setting and for addressing wet weather conditions effectively in water quality regulations. The research results are expected to benefit regulatory agencies and other stakeholders by recommending new approaches to address wet weather discharges and receiving water quality.