Reply to comment on "suburban watershed nitrogen retention: Estimating the effectiveness of stormwater management structures" by Koch et al. (Elem Sci Anth 3:000063, July 2015)Reply to Walsh

Abstract

We reply to a comment on our recent structured expert judgment analysis of stormwater nitrogen retention in suburban watersheds. Low relief, permeable soils, a dynamic stream channel, and subsurface flows characterize many lowland Coastal Plain watersheds. These features result in unique catchment hydrology, limit the precision of streamflow measurements, and challenge the assumptions for calculating runoff from rainfall and catchment area. We reiterate that the paucity of high-resolution nitrogen loading data for Chesapeake Bay watersheds warrants greater investment in long-term empirical studies of suburban watershed nutrient budgets for this region.