1. Nutrient Criteria to Protect Aquatic Life of Streams and Lakes in Intensive Agricultural Watersheds
2. Landscape controls on diffuse nutrient transfers in agricultural catchments
3. Managing Urban Stormwater Quality in a Changing Climate: Science, Engineering and Policy
4. Management Practices to Reduce Nutrient Loss from Agricultural Systems: Research Results Establishing Effective and Non-effective Conservation Practices
5. Emerging Contaminants in Groundwater and Surface Water: Selected Substances, Sources, Monitoring, Risk Assessment and Management
6. Water Quality Trading: Pre-requisite Analyses
Back to the Open Workshops Introduction
Water Quality Trading: Pre-requisite Analyses
This workshop will bring together researchers and managers from engineering and the natural and social sciences interested in exploring an alternative to achieve cleaner waterways more expeditiously and at less cost. More specifically, this session will be the second instalment of a three-part series on water quality trading. Water quality trading is a policy option whereby pollution control authorities simultaneously allocate wastewater and diffuse pollution loadings for pollutant parameters for an entire water body segment or watershed (river basin or catchment) – they do so only in quantities consistent with maintenance or attainment of water quality standards (i.e., cap) – and wastewater and diffuse pollution dischargers, either individually or collectively as sectors groups, are allowed to exchange for monetary compensation pollutant reduction responsibilities via permits, consents or contracts (i.e., trade) so long as doing so will not result in violations of water quality standards (i.e., post-trade loadings don’t exceed caps). Critical questions to which answers will be discussed at this second instalment of the workshop series in Quebec include:
- What is the basic theory underlying the concept of water quality trading and to what extent has it been practiced throughout the world (recap of Instalment 1 of the larger workshop series scheduled for Seoul in 2009)?
- What type of effluent monitoring is required as a prerequisite to water quality trading?
- What types of diffuse pollution assessments and monitoring are typically needed in order to qualify diffuse pollution sources as sellers of pollution credits?
- To what degree do end-of-pipe effluent, diffuse pollutant and ambient receiving waters need to be modeled in order to ensure water quality trading does not result in contraventions of water quality standards (i.e., caps aren’t exceeded subsequent to trades)?
- What data and algorithms are available to analysts (typically engineers and/or economists) in the various regions throughout the world to do the pre-emptive cost-effectiveness analysis that is usually necessary to assist potential buyers in identifying potential sellers of water pollution control credits?
Co-Chairs:
1 – Sean Blacklocke, Blacklocke Consulting, Dublin, Ireland,
sean-blacklocke@sean-blacklocke.com
2 – Ray Earle, Dept. Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Dublin, Ireland, rayearle@utvinternet.ie
Secretary: John Joyce **
Invited Talks:
1 – Barry M. Evans *, Engineering assessments, monitoring and modeling of effluent and diffuse pollution discharges pursuant to establishing a water quality trading program or policy.
2 – John Joyce **, Conducting cost-effectiveness analysis to identify potential buyers and sellers of
water pollution control credits to initiate water quality trades.
* Senior Scientist, Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment (PSIEE), Penn State University, University Park, USA.
** Project Manager, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), Stockholm, SWEDEN
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