Courses

BSE 5984 TMDL Development and Implementation

The Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program is intended to bring all waters in the US into compliance with applicable state water quality standards. The Virginia legislature estimates program costs in Virginia alone of $500 million over the next decade. TMDL development requires engineering knowledge in the areas of nonpoint and point source pollution control, water quality modeling, geographic information systems, and applied economics, as well as in the fundamental processes used in TMDL development. The purpose of this course is to introduce graduate level students to the history and policy issues associated with the TMDL program and to the basic techniques and procedures used in TMDL development and implementation.

Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Discuss  the legislative and judicial basis of the TMDL program
2. Describe the program and regulatory requirements of the federal and Virginia TMDL programs
3. Describe designated uses and the types and sources of water quality impairments
4. Understand the principles of and when to use each of the following TMDL development approaches: modeling, narrative, reference or pilot watershed, etc.
5. Identify required TMDL data needs and sources and be able to retrieve said data
6. Understand the role and use of GIS and databases in TMDL development
7. Use one or more of the following models for TMDL development: HSPF, GWLF, SWAT                                                                
8. Describe and discuss the major required components of a TMDL report
9. Discuss the principles and techniques used in TMDL implementation plan development
10. Discuss the principles and techniques used for TMDL implementation
11. Develop a TMDL

This course will be taught again in 2007.