Optimal Water Quality Management Strategies for Urban Watersheds Using Macrolevel Simulation and Optimization Models

Abstract

This paper describes the development of an optimal water quality tool for managing wet weather discharges that uses a macrolevel simulation model (i.e., the Streeter-Phelps equation) linked with a highly efficient optimization algorithm (i.e., a modified version of the Box complex method). The proposed approach can be applied to an urban watershed impaired by multiple sources of wet weather discharges. As an application, the proposed approach is used to develop optimal water quality management strategies for the Beargrass Creek watershed in Louisville, Ky.