Modeling BMPs In Delaware's Inland Bays Watershed

摘要

The Total Daily Maximum Load (TMDL) set for the Inland Bays requires nonpoint source phosphorus loads to be reduced from 40 to 65% and nitrogen loads reduced from 40 to 85% in the different tributaries from baseline loads established from monitoring data collected from 1988 to 1990. The Simulator for Water Resources in Rural Basins (SWRRB) model and Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) were used to model different best management practice. The SWAT model was used to evaluate five land use/agriculture practice scenarios in the Millsboro Pond watershed of the Inland Bays Basin in southern Delaware. The evaluation of the five scenarios showed that they alone were not able to meet the TMDLs requirements as set by the State. Five cropping systems were evaluated with SWRRB. Introducing winter cover crops has a large effect on reducing nitrogen and phosphorus loads regardless of the tillage operation. The model SWRRB is limited in the BMPs that can be simulated for southern Delaware conditions.