The “choose and implement practices” component allows users to identify
an optimal suite of practices to improve water quality in a cost-effect manner. Some Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP)
partners have already identified priority practices based on nutrient
reduction and cost effectiveness.
The initial version of COAST provides summaries of management practices
and selected CBP watershed model outputs to evaluate alternative management
scenarios to help choose the optimal approach to reduce nutrient loads.
In the future, the CBP will have a www-based interface to allow testing
of different nutrient and sediment reduction scenarios. The interface
will allow users to explore different scenarios of reducing loads applied
to lands by controlling multiple inputs and variables including:
- Best management practices (BMPs) location, type, and efficiencies.
- Animal population locations and numbers.
- Land use using the CBP-specified 25 land-use categories.
- Crop management parameters, such as fertilizer application rates and tillage practices.
Decision process to choose practices:
- Review list of best management practices (BMPs) and associated efficiencies.
- See current efforts to identify priority BMPs
- Identify potential BMPs for selected area.
- Use scenario builder tool (when available) to test different combinations of practices to reduce nutrients to desired levels and the associated costs.
- Assess opportunities to use available resources and programs to help implement BMPs.
- Choose suite of priority BMPs to be implemented based on load reduction and cost effectiveness.
- Develop an implementation plan with partners.
- Set milestones for number of practices to be implemented based on available resources.
- Design an evaluation program to monitor implementation of BMPs and associated water-quality changes (see monitoring change component of COAST for more information).
- Implement practices
- Go to “Monitor change and assess progress” component
of COAST.
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Learn more:
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
