CHERRY CREEK WATERSHED-BASED TRADING – INNOVATIVE AND COST-EFFECTIVE INCENTIVES TO MEET WATER QUALITY GOALS

Given the public's demand for water quality improvements and more judicious government spending, the Cherry Creek Watershed-Based Trading Program (Trading Program) is an important model for improving water quality. In 1997, the Cherry Creek Basin Water Quality Authority (Authority) developed a scientific methodology for determining trade ratios in the Cherry Creek basin and provided the technical framework for implementing the Trading Program that included long-term monitoring, data analysis, and operation and maintenance of the trading facilities (WERF, 2000). Since the inception of the Trading Program, expected population growth, stormwater permits, and a phosphorus total maximum daily load (TMDL) have created clear incentives for dischargers in the Cherry Creek Basin to implement watershed-based trading as an innovative way to reduce phosphorus loads. Following the construction of several Pollutant Reduction Facilities, monitoring data have been collected to confirm phosphorus reductions. This paper provides detail on the scientific basis for the Trading Program, including trade ratios and credits for pollutant reductions, incorporating recent monitoring results.