Water Quality Trading Spotlight - Brodhead, Wisconsin

AWARD-WINNING SUCCESS THROUGH WATER QUALITY TRADING

The Problem:

Brodhead, a Wisconsin city of 3,276, owned and operated a treatment plant in working condition, yet it would have taken a whopping $4.2 million to overhaul the facility to meet the required future effluent limits for phosphorus as set forth by the WPDES permit: 0.1 mg/L.

FACILITY

UPGRADE PLAN

$4.2 million Infrastructure Upgrade

$ $

190 lbs/yr

In the end, this investment would only solve a symptom of the problem. MSA engineers recognized that a traditional structural upgrade was not the answer, nor was mere compliance the ultimate goal. Rather, a reduction in total phosphorus means protecting the integrity of the local watershed.

So why settle for simply meeting the prescribed effluent limit when a project can make a larger and lasting impact?

The City of Brodhead, WI was struggling to meet new water quality limits on phosphorus.

An Alternative Solution

Financial and Environmental Success Through Water Quality Trading

MSA engineers worked in close concert with the City to examine all phosphorus-reducing alternatives and settled on the creation of a Water Quality Trading (WQT) Program. The program is unconventional in that it fuses wastewater, agricultural and water resources engineering, with key stakeholders being local landowners and farmers who all hold equal accountability in a successful outcome. To achieve the Water Quality-based Effluent Limitations (WQBEL) goals, MSA and the City of Brodhead embarked on a methodological study of all area watersheds, identifying two impactful locations.

$932k Capital Investment

1,090 lbs/yr Phosphorus Decrease

Through the improvement of these locations, the WQT program reduces the municipality’s total phosphorus load by 1,090 pounds per year, more than five times the requisite phosphorus reductions.

It also generates 390 annual pounds of WQT credits to meet current and future compliance goals. Most importantly, it upholds water quality and vastly minimizes harmful phosphorus loads entering the Sugar River watershed.

A Primer on Water Quality Trading

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the first Water Quality Trading Policy in 2003, designed to guide the development of responsible programs to reduce pollution in our nation’s waterways.

WQT allows municipalities and wastewater permittees to offset the amount of phosphorus discharged by their wastewater treatment facility (in excess of the applicable WQBEL) by implementing trades with non-point dischargers or instituting best management practices (BMPs) within the watershed. The offsets generated come in the form of credits, a unit of pollutant reduction measured in a per-pound equivalent.

In order to promote the potential for improving water quality, an uncertainty factor known as a “trade ratio” is applied to the amount of phosphorus that must be offset by the discharger.

In the case of Brodhead, the City would need to conservatively generate 238 pounds of phosphorus credit per year in order to comply with the established WQBEL and compliance goals, factoring in population and industrial growth over the next 20 years.

Utilizing the WQT program, the City is on track to generate at least 390 pounds of total credit per year at an average trade ratio of 2.8:1. (1,090 pounds removed = 390 pounds of credit).

Streambank Revitalization Searles Creek

Streambank revitalization was a major component of this project. Because phosphorus is naturally occurring in soil, streambank erosion can cause large quantities of phosphorus-loaded sediment to enter the waterways, ultimately leading to algae bloom and the die-off of aquatic life.

After a comprehensive study of all area watersheds, it was determined that the most impactful starting point for the project was at Searles Creek, a sub-watershed of the Sugar River. Searles had been identified on Wisconsin’s 303d list of impaired waters and was considered a major contributor to heavy sediment loads to Decatur Lake, once a diverse warm water fishery.

MSA agricultural and water resources engineers implemented a variety of innovative streambank stabilization practices.

1. Vegetative reinforced soil slopes (VRSS)

VRSS is a soil bioengineering technique that reintroduces plant life specifically where it will be most beneficial, helping to grow new trees, establish root networks, and prevent further soil loss, while also providing shelter and habitat for fish reptiles, birds, and aquatic insects.

2. Custom Flood Gates

These flood gates were designed and installed to stop livestock from crossing the stream in certain sensitive areas, while allowing water and canoeists or kayakers to pass through. In addition, seven new rock crossing areas (fords) were established for use by that same livestock as well as local farmers.

All streambank design and stabilization work was paid for by the City of Brodhead, with zero costs incurred by the landowners of the streambanks.

62 Revitalized Streambanks

Manure Management Local Dairy Farm

The second major source of phosphorus was a different challenge. The landowner of the source was an active dairy farmer with built infrastructure and operational systems that all needed upgrading. This required the expertise of MSA’s agricultural engineers.

Phosphorus can be found in animal manure in both organic and inorganic forms. If improperly regulated, phosphorus can build up in soils and in runoff, adversely affecting surface water quality and the health of downstream aquatic ecosystems.

MSA worked with this farmer on a number of impactful and creditgenerating projects, including the construction and installation of:

Eliminated Phosphorus Runoff

• 2.2-Million-Gallon Manure Tank

• Roof Cover & Gutter System

• Waste Reception Tank & Piping

• Improved Crop Nutrient System

The result? Essentially no offsite runoff from the farm’s animal production area. This helps protect local watersheds as well as retains manure and nutrients in-house, allowing the manure to be applied to crop fields at the right time and place in a more beneficial manner.

MSA also helped this farmer receive funding through the National Resources Conservation Service Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), resulting in minimal costs to the farmer and city.

Results

The clients for this project include the City of Brodhead, three landowners, including a local dairy farm, and in a sense, the Sugar River watershed, which all had differing needs, benchmarks and levels of satisfaction.

Results for the City exceeded expectations, with a capital investment of just $932,256 as opposed to the $4.2 million anticipated as part of a wastewater treatment facility overhaul.

Annual operational costs are expected to be approximately $42,000 going forward. In total, by implementing the WQT program, the City of Brodhead is projected to save $3.8 million in lifecycle costs.

Furthermore, the WQT solution is immensely more effective, removing more than five times the amount of phosphorus than from treatment plant upgrades — offsetting 1,090 pounds/yr of phosphorus as compared to 190 pounds/yr.

These results greatly exceed the City’s long-term goals for phosphorus compliance and create a “bank” of extra credits to combat unknown challenges, such as future flooding or breakdowns at the City’s treatment facility, which if unaccounted for, could lead to future noncompliance with WQBELs.

This offers a comfortable degree of resiliency for the City, knowing their facility can withstand a changing climate, and that they also have room to grow.

KEY RESULTS

390 Additional WQT Credits per Year

$3.8M saved In Lifecycle Costs

1,090 lbs/yr

www.msa-ps.com

Award Recognition

2022 Engineering Excellence Grand

Award

The City of Brodhead and MSA were together chosen to receive the 2022 Grand Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Wisconsin for this project — the top honor selected from a group of 2022 Engineering Excellence Best of State Award winners.

The Grand Award is given to a singular project from all 2022 award entries that demonstrates the highest degree of engineering achievement, skill and creativity in the state of Wisconsin.

Best of State recipients advanced to the ACEC National competition, where this project was presented with an ACEC National Honor Award — a prestigious distinction and representation of exceptional engineering achievements.

Award winners were formally honored at the 2022 Engineering Excellence Awards Gala May 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C. as part of the ACEC Annual Convention.

ACEC Grand Award 2022

ACEC National Honor Award 2022

Creating Win-Win Solutions

Water Quality Trading under the Clean Water Act is a viable option for communities looking to meet permit goals while achieving substantial cost savings.

Each municipality must weigh the short- and long-term budgetary, water quality, and infrastructure needs in order to make the most informed and sustainable decision.

Trading can be an effective tool if thoughtfully planned and executed, helping to chart a successful path forward for a community, and for the greater public and environmental good.