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Cost Implications in Achieving Alternative Water Quality Targets
Author(s) -
Schleich Joachim,
White David,
Stephenson Kurt
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/96wr01526
Subject(s) - watershed , environmental science , phosphorus , water quality , nutrient , reduction (mathematics) , water resource management , hydrology (agriculture) , structural basin , drainage basin , bay , agricultural engineering , computer science , mathematics , ecology , geography , civil engineering , engineering , geology , biology , paleontology , materials science , machine learning , metallurgy , geometry , geotechnical engineering , cartography
Excessive nutrient loading poses significant water quality problems in many water bodies across the country. An important question that must be addressed when nutrient reduction policies are devised is where nutrient reduction targets will be applied within the watershed. This paper examines the cost implications of establishing three possible nutrient reduction targets in different locations along the Fox‐Wolf River basin in northeast Wisconsin. A linear programming model calculates the total cost of achieving a 50% phosphorus load reduction target established in various locations throughout the basin. Two strategies establish phosphorus reduction targets for each of the 41 subwatersheds, and the third approach establishes a single 50% target reduction at Green Bay for the entire watershed. The results indicate that achieving target phosphorus reductions at the subwatershed level is over 4 times more expensive than achieving the same percentage phosphorus reduction for the watershed as a whole.