Evaluation of the best management practices on phosphorus loading from the Napanee River watershed

Session: Poster session

Dong-Kyun Kim, University of Toronto Scarborough, [email protected]
Alex Neumann, University of Toronto Scarborough, [email protected]
Feifei Dong, University of Toronto, [email protected]
Shan Mugalingam, Lower Trent Conservation, [email protected]
George Arhonditsis, University of Toronto Scarborough, [email protected]

Abstract

The objective of our research is to apply Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and evaluate the Best Management Practices (BMPs) in the Bay of Quinte watershed located at the north-eastern part of Lake Ontario. Even though considerable insights with respect to the watershed functioning have been gained by our recent SPARROW modelling exercise, the annual resolution of the latter model, along with the fact that the vast majority of the water quality samples from the local tributaries are collected during baseflow conditions, clearly impedes the accurate characterization of phosphorus dynamics during high flow regimes. Recent evidence from other locations in Southern Ontario suggests that a significant fraction of the inflowing phosphorus is generated during a small number of brief but intense precipitation events. Our primary focus is on the Napanee River watershed, where empirical evidence and model predictions suggest that the interplay between inflowing nutrient loads and circulation patterns shapes the local biogeochemical processes, thereby modulating the severity of eutrophication phenomena in the system. Combined with the currently developed network of eutrophication models, our work will assess the likelihood to delist the Bay of Quinte Area of Concern (AOC) for the Beneficial Use "Eutrophication or Undesirable Algae".

1. Keyword
watersheds

2. Keyword
Bay of Quinte

3. Keyword
phosphorus

4. Additional Keyword
SWAT