Hydrologic-Economic Analysis of Best Management Practices for Sediment Control in the Santa Fe Watershed, New Mexico
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 15, Issue 4
Abstract
The Santa Fe River Watershed in Santa Fe County, New Mexico was identified as one of the top five high risk nonpoint source pollution areas out in the Rio Grande Basin. This watershed was selected to demonstrate the use of hydrologic modeling as a powerful tool for assessing the impacts of land management practices on erosion and sediment control at the watershed level. A method based on the Hydrologic Simulation Program-Fortran was used to address the local nonpoint sediment pollution concerns. The model was modified to reflect predicted future land uses related to expected urban expansion in the watershed. Six scenarios were created and the costs and benefits of each were weighed. The total estimated costs ranged from under $1 million to over $66 million. Total average annual sediment yields at the watershed outlet ranged from 3,441 to 4,111 tonnes/year, depending on management practices employed. These results indicate the magnitude of expected sediment reductions under various management strategies. Additionally, they provide an indication of the magnitude of expected sediment reductions in the Santa Fe Watershed and the estimated cost of each management practice.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to gratefully acknowledge Mr. Darwin Ockerman from the USGS Texas Water Science Center, Dr. Chad Smith and Dr. Paula Williamson from Texas State University-San Marcos, and Dr. Vladimir Novotny from Northeastern University for their contributions to this study.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 15 • Issue 4 • April 2010
Pages: 308 - 317
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Jan 2, 2009
Accepted: Sep 20, 2009
Published online: Oct 1, 2009
Published in print: Apr 2010
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