TMDL and Clean Water

The 1972 Clean Water Act of the United States of America and its Amendments describe Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) as a plan to restore the quality of nation’s waterbodies impaired with various pollutants for their designated water uses. Scientifically, TMDL is the maximum amount of a pollutant a waterbody can receive and still meet the applicable water quality standards. The clean water goals are achieved by developing TMDLs which allocate permissible pollutant loads from various pollutant sources such as municipal wastewater discharges, stormwater runoffs, and agricultural activities and implementing the TMDLs approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) through National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) or various best management practice (BMP) measures.

Hydrologic, hydrodynamic, and water quality models are invaluable tools in TMDL development and implementation. The ASCE Manuals and Reports on Engineering Practice No. 150 listed below is a valuable resource for finding and using models and analytical methods in developing and implementing TMDLs. The list below also includes other publications addressing clean water and TMDLs.

This collection is curated by Deva Borah, Ph.D., P.E. and Harry Zhang, Ph.D., P.E.