Monitoring to Mitigate TMDL Trauma

Greenville County owns and maintains a technologically advanced water quality monitoring network designed to fulfill municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permit requirements and to provide the County with a vastly improved understanding of local water quality and potential impacts on total maximum daily loads. Continuous water quality data collected over the past decade in the Reedy River watershed has been instrumental in assessing complex physical, chemical, and biological in-stream processes. The County’s commitment to the monitoring network and its associated data was the impetus behind the formation and support of a coalition consisting of EPA and over 20 local stakeholders, whose aim is to develop a collaborative watershed management plan to avoid a costly and potentially ineffective draft nutrient TMDL.