Linking Receiving Water Impacts to Sources and to Water Quality Management Decisions: Using Nutrients as an Initial Case Study

This report provides an initial case study for WERF's "Linking Receiving Water Impacts to Sources and to Water Quality Management Decisions" challenge by focusing on nutrients as a source constituent, primarily nitrogen. It provides a state-of-the-knowledge approach to establishing the linkages between sources of nitrogen, the predicted and measured adverse impacts of nitrogen on receiving waters, and the costs and benefits of controls available to address these adverse impacts. Based on a literature review, a framework for establishing these linkages was developed. The framework included establishing water quality impacts, linking these impacts to nutrients, quantifying major nitrogen sources, evaluating the costs and benefits of available nitrogen controls, estimating receiving water responses to controls, implementing a nitrogen control strategy, and assessing water quality for potential improvements. Published by WERF. 214 pages. Online PDF. (2010)

Originally funded as WERF project WERF3C10.