Stroubles Creek

View of Stroubles Creek in Blacksburg, Virginia.

The Center for TMDL and Watershed Studies at Virginia Tech was chartered in May 2004. As a part of a Land-Grant university the Center is committed to education, research, and outreach. The Center has developed programming and resources to serve various audiences including local stakeholders in a specific watershed, state and federal agency staff, TMDL developers, and extension and research professionals. Much of the Center’s activity deals with improving the watershed simulation models.

The Center has completed 26 bacteria impairment TMDLs and 8 aquatic life impairment TMDLs. The Center has developed sixteen TMDLs during the 2007-2008 cycle for the state of Virginia.  Ten of the TMDLs are on segments where excess bacteria is the cause of impairment and 6 are on segments listed for not meeting the states narrative, general aquatic life use standard and the cause of impairment is unknown. The sixteen TMDLs are part of 7 project areas and draft reports are available on the Virginia DEQ website.  The Center has begun work on two implementation plans; Pigg River and Smith Creek. 

These and other active TMDL related efforts are chronicled in the Center’s project  Forum.   Review the progress of these efforts and find out about upcoming meetings.

The Center also develops and delivers TMDL-related workshops on a variety of topics.

Welcome to the Center for TMDL and Watershed Studies.  We encourage you to explore our website and learn more about who we are what we do.  If you have questions about the Center, please contact us.

     

Version 3.1 of BSLC and User's Guide now available

A new, enhanced version of the Bacteria Source Load Calculator (BSLC) software is now available, along with a recently published user’s manual. The BSLC, developed by staff at the Center for TMDL and Watershed Studies, is designed to simplify the complex and time-consuming work involved in determining bacterial loadings necessary for input into many non-point source models including the Hydrological Simulation Program–Fortran model (HSPF). With new program features, such as allowing users to define in-stream defecation for specific days and species, BSLC users can more easily and accurately characterize the bacterial loads in watersheds.

Download version 3.1 of the BSLC and New user's guide

September 2008 Newsletter

The latest issue of the newsletter in now available for download (At the Center Volume 4, Issue 3, September 2008.pdf).  This issue of the newsletter includes articles on reviving the Virginia Household Water Quality Program, TMDLs in the coalfields, and latest updates on the Center's website. In addition, an ongoing segment in the newsletter continues to detail recent publications, presentations, and TMDL study updates.

Third-Party TMDL Development Tool Kit

A third-party TMDL is a TMDL in which an organization or group other than the lead water quality agency takes responsibility for developing the TMDL document and supporting analysis.  A third party can be a watershed group, municipal wastewater or stormwater discharger organization, industrial discharger entity, other unit of government (such as a county, city, municipality, or land management agency), or nonpoint source organization (such as a farm bureau, irrigation and drainage district, or landowner).

Under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, WEF has developed a Tool Kit for third-party TMDL development. Dr. Brian Benham, Director of the Center for TMDL and Watershed Studies at Virginia Tech participated on the task force that developed the tool kit.

Printed copies of WEF's Third-Party TMDL Development Tool Kit are available at no charge:  

http://www.wef.org/ScienceTechnologyResources/TechnicalInformation/TopicalResourceDocs/ThirdPartyTMDLDev.html