TMDL Development Cycle
The Watershed Management Program
(WMP) is based on a
five-phase cycle that rotates through Florida's basins every five years. Objectives and
specific tasks in each phase of the cycle are as follows:
The development cycle outlined below will take place within
the context of
chapter 99-223, Laws of Florida,
which details a specific process for listing impaired waters, determining which waters
will be subjected to Total Maximum Daily Loads calculations, adopting by rule those TMDL
calculations and associated allocations of pollutant loadings, and implementing the
management strategies designed to reduce the loadings and enable the water body to meet
water quality standards.
Phase 1: Initial Basin
Assessment
Objectives: Establish the general ecological health of the basin, identify waterbodies
requiring restoration, protection, and/or TMDL development, identify sources of pollution,
develop a coordinated monitoring plan, and develop consensus-based water resource
protection and restoration goals.
Specific tasks include:
- identify and coordinate with local, state, and federal stakeholders (public and private)
to assist in data collection, basin assessment, and development of a coordinated plan of
action for completing the assessment
- characterize each basin, including climate, geology, hydrology (surface and ground
water), water budget, biology
(bioassessments), land use, population, and known sources of pollution (point and
nonpoint)
- inventory and evaluate existing data (within and outside DEP) to characterize basin
conditions; use STORET data and 305(b) methodology to generally assess major water bodies
and overall basin water quality, including ground water basin evaluation and biology
(HUC
and watershed level assessment); and evaluate other existing data in the context of
identified problem watersheds
- provide a detailed description of water resource issues for the basin; identify
candidate waters for TMDL development, restoration and/or preservation; characterize point
sources and nonpoint sources of pollution; identify specific parameters of concern
(biological/chemical), including summary statistics and temporal variability, as
available; and characterize watershed vulnerability
- summarize existing and planned management activities (local, state, and federal) to
address identified water resource issues, concentrating on water quality management
- conduct field reconnaissance to identify potential sources of pollution and ground truth
land use data
- identify information needs, develop monitoring goals (establish questions to be
answered), identify monitoring methodologies and resources required, and develop plan of
study for coordinated monitoring within the basin
- the monitoring plan will address design (location of sampling stations, indicators to be
measured, and frequency of sampling), data management, and reporting
- summarize water quality management goals for the basin and identify management
activities that should be initiated in the short term, produce and distribute basin
assessment report for public review, comment, and consensus building among all
stakeholders
- assess effectiveness of point source controls, Best Management Practices
(BMPs), and
TMDLs
Phase 2: Coordinated Monitoring
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Objectives: Supplement existing data to further characterize basin conditions,
investigate areas with identified or potential water quality problems, evaluate the
effectiveness of management actions, and collect data for TMDL development.
Specific tasks include:
- conduct monitoring as established in a plan of study and as otherwise may be required in
waters requiring TMDL development, restoration or preservation
- monitoring will include intensive surveys in 303(d) listed waters, bioreconnaissance
studies (biorecons), VISA evaluations (intensive ground water surveys), and parameter
specific studies, and will focus on both point and nonpoint sources of pollution
Phase 3: Data Analysis and TMDL
Development
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Objectives: Document the water quality data collected in phase 2, noting any changes in
the conclusions of the initial basin assessment; provide a more detailed assessment of
major pollutant sources, including the quantification of nonpoint source loadings; and
conduct and document TMDLs, as needed.
Specific tasks include:
- summarize available flow data, providing statistics on worst case conditions and noting
differences in flow from long term averages
- summarize water quality data from targeted monitoring stations, noting seasonal
variation, differences in water quality within the basin, compliance with water quality
criteria, and overall ranking of water quality
- summarize results of intensive surveys, noting any spatial and temporal trends and
compliance with water quality criteria
- summarize results of
biorecons, perhaps in the form of
Ecosummaries
- summarize results and conclusions of any special studies
- inventory and quantify major pollutant sources, including determination of nonpoint
source pollutant loadings of key parameters
- conduct modeling to determine assimilative capacity, establish
TMDLs, and evaluate main
management alternatives
Phase 4: Basin Management Plan
Development
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Objectives: Work with local stakeholders to develop a Basin Management Plan to specify
how established goals will be achieved by recommending management activities, establishing
who is responsible for implementation, establishing a schedule for implementation, and
noting how the effectiveness of the plan will be assessed. While the plan will focus on
implementation of TMDLs developed in the basin, it will also address more general
watershed goals.
Specific tasks include:
- coordinate with DEP staff in other program areas along with local stakeholders to draft
a Basin Management Plan
- identify appropriate regulatory and voluntary programs that can address water quality
problems and implement TMDLs
- conduct at least one public workshop to discuss the draft Basin Management Plan
- adopt the Basin Management Plan
Phase 5: Begin Implementation of Basin
Management Plan
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Objectives: Begin implementation of the Basin Management Plan and associated water
resource protection and restoration efforts, including development and implementation of
BMPs, habitat protection and restoration activities, environmental infrastructure
improvements, and issuance of permits.
Specific tasks include:
- renew or issue wastewater permits in the basin with new effluent limits, as required
- develop and implement appropriate BMPs
(agricultural/stormwater)
- initiate rulemaking or legislative action as may be required
This five-phase cycle is iterative. One of the key components of the basin management
approach is that the effectiveness of management activities will be monitored in
successive cycles. Monitoring conducted in Phase 2 of the subsequent cycles will be
targeted at evaluating whether water quality objectives are being met and waters are no
longer impaired.
Linkage to TMDL implementation
Total Maximum Daily Loads are key components of the Watershed Management Program. The
five-year cycle provides the structure for focusing resources on specific basins,
identifying impaired waters, conducting targeted monitoring that will provide the data
needed for model calibration and verification, and developing TMDLs for impaired waters.
Basin Management Plans are a critical product of the Watershed Management Program because
they provide the roadmap for implementation of the TMDLs, and will serve as
basin-specific, consensus driven implementation plans.
For
more information, send e-mail to
Jan
Mandrup-Poulsen (Jan.Mandrup-Poulsen@dep.state.fl.us)
Total
Maximum Daily Load Program
2600 Blair Stone Road - Mail Station 3555
Tallahassee, FL, 32399-2400
Phone: (850) 245-8449
2012 State of Florida