Assessing the efficiency of alternative best management practices to reduce nonpoint source pollution in a rural watershed located in Louisiana, USA

Abstract

We conducted biophysical simulations using MapShed to determine the effects of adopting best management practices (BMPs) to reduce nutrients and sediment pollution in a watershed dominated by poultry production in the Saline Bayou Watershed, Louisiana, USA. The reduction of three water pollutants, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment from adopting different BMPs were assessed using a linear programming model with the cost minimization objective. We considered three weather scenarios (dry, normal, and wet) and BMP parameter efficiencies obtained from linear regression models. Optimization results showed that nutrient management and agricultural land retirement reduced most of the phosphorus runoff in the watershed at the lowest cost. Results were robust to alternative weather (dry, normal, and wet) scenarios.