Development of a Dissolved Oxygen TMDL for Brunswick River Using a 2-D Hydrodynamic and Water Quality Model

Proceedings of the 2001 Georgia Water Resources Conference, April 26 and 27, 2001, Athens, Georgia.St. Simons Sound and Brunswick River are located in an estuary along the Atlantic Coast approximately 80 miles south of Savannah, Georgia, and 70 miles north of Jacksonville, Florida. They were placed on the 303(d) list for dissolved oxygen. As prescribed under the Clean Water Act, a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) has been determined for these listed reaches. In order to determine the allowable TMDL for oxygen demanding material considering the potential impacts of ongoing point source, non-point source, marsh loadings, and benthic conditions, a two-dimensional hydrodynamic, transport, and water quality model was developed. The primary point source discharge to the system is a paper mill along the Brunswick River. The Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC) hydrodynamic model was utilized along with the Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP). The model system provides accurate simulations of the circulation and transport within the system, this was verified through simulation of salinity. The model projected an allowable TMDL and referenced that allowable loading to natural and anthropogenic sources.Sponsored and Organized by: U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resources Conservation Service, The University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of TechnologyThis book was published by the Institute of Ecology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2202. The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of The University of Georgia, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Georgia Water Research Institute as authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-397) or the other conference sponsors