SPARROW Model Results: Nutrient Loads and Sources for New England Watersheds

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the New England
Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), developed the New England SPARROW
(Spatially Referenced Regressions on Watershed Attributes) Water-Quality Models
to provide scientifically based estimates for nutrient levels in freshwater
streams, nutrient loading to coastal waters, and nutrient sources.

USGS is currently presenting the results, data, and tools from the New England
SPARROW Model to other agencies and the public. The model data has been
documented, packaged, and disseminated on CD-ROMs, and a series of SPARROW
Workshops were conducted in 2005, one in each of the six New England states.
The workshops facilitate training and capacity building for resource managers,
decision makers, scientists, and educators in the use of SPARROW tools and
data. In 2006, an interactive web page displaying data and model results will
be prepared.

This project will provide the New England scientific and management community
with immediate access to pertinent watershed data for New England, including
estimates for nutrient concentrations, loads, sources, and transport for each
of the stream reaches in New England. The New England SPARROW Model results
will be used by USEPA, NEIWPCC, and other agencies for a variety of nutrient
management programs for New England riverine and estuarine waters.
Specifically, the model input and output data could be used for total maximum
daily load (TMDL) allocation studies, development of numeric stream nutrient
criteria, developing appropriate monitoring strategies for new monitoring
activities, and relating landscape nutrient loads to near coastal water
assessments.