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Efficacy of best management practices in coastal watersheds
Proceedings of the 2023 Mississippi Water Resources Conference

Year: 2023 Authors: Bhattarai S., Parajuli P.


Best management practices (BMPs) are implemented in coastal plains to reduce sediment and nutrient loss. This study assessed the effectiveness of BMPs in two coastal watersheds: Wolf River Watershed (WRW) and Jourdan River Watershed (JRW), using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. The coefficient of determination (R2) and Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) were used to evaluate the model performance. Effectiveness of impoundments and buffer were analyzed after successful model calibration-validation. Ponds reduced up to 75% Total Suspended Solids (TSS), 12% of Mineral Phosphorous (MinP), and wetlands reduced up to 75% of TSS, and 13% of MinP. The highest reduction of TSS and MinP was achieved by 30 m buffer in both watersheds. Furthermore, combined BMP reduced TSS by 30% and MinP by 52% in WRW, whereas TSS was reduced by 75% and MinP was reduced by 27% in JRW. Impoundments were more effective in reducing TSS and buffer were more effective in reducing MinP. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of BMPs in reducing TSS and MinP loss from coastal watersheds.

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