The operational goal of the CLEAN Nutrient Center is to develop and demonstrate sustainable, cost-effective nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) management strategies for restoring watershed systems and attaining designated uses. Solutions will integrate strategies for urban, agricultural and hydro-geomorphic system components and include policy and technical solutions.
The research team with the CLEAN Center have achieved several milestones in 2015 including:
- Collaboration between Colorado State University and North Carolina State University has led to unique learning opportunities on North Carolina’s approach to regulating nutrients on a basin basis instead of individual point and non-point sources. A “Research Brief” by Brock Hodgson includes a detailed summary of North Carolina’s approach and how communities are complying located at http://erams.com/clean/?p=2233
- North Carolina State University has set up two test sites for their project “Urban Stormwater Management: Evaluation of Simple Retrofits/Design Enhancements and Development of Simple Assessment Tools”. See summaries of both sites here http://erams.com/clean/?p=2241
- A team from North Carolina State University and Colorado State University continue to collect information on agricultural watersheds and surveying farmers of fertilizer and conservation practices.
- The Project Team for the “Fluvial Instability and Riparian Degradation: Evaluating and Reducing Nutrient Loading from Channel-Riparian Interfaces” published a paper and Master’s Thesis on the “Uncertainty and sensitivity in bank stability modeling: implications for estimating phosphorous loading”. These publications will provide guidance for a simplified watershed-scale model to predict nutrient loading from bank erosion. This team is also leveraging funding from other sources including funding from the Big Dry Creek watershed stakeholders, the Water Environment Research Foundation, and Urban Drainage and Flood Control District to develop additional products including a literature review of stream bank restoration as a nutrient reduction strategy and more detailed analysis in the Big Dry Creek watershed.
These accomplishments and more will be discussed at our annual meeting, February 22-23, 2016 and we look forward to your feedback.