Water Environment Research Foundation Awards New Contracts To Provide Guidance For Stormwater And Agricultural Best Management Practices

New research projects to expand the Best Management Practices Database are now underway.

Alexandria,VA (PRWEB) - WERF continues to provide watershed managers with cutting edge tools and information needed to protect the water quality of local streams and waterways. Two new projects are underway to expand a very important data set for watershed managers, the Best Management Practices Database. The first project, Agricultural Best Management Practices (BMP) Performance: Population of a New National BMP Database (WERF4C14), is funded by the United Soybean Board. The project team from Wright Water Engineers and Geosyntec will populate WERF’s newly developed Agricultural BMP Database with agricultural BMP performance data and information using scientifically developed methods and protocols.

Building this central clearinghouse with data on the effectiveness of agricultural BMPs will greatly benefit agricultural producers and watershed managers by helping to consistently and scientifically evaluate observed field performance of these practices. The United Soybean Board joins WERF, the National Corn Growers Association, and the Missouri Corn Growers Association to develop this innovative, new data resource tool.

The second project, also awarded to Wright Water Engineers, will develop a new module for the BMP Database for Stream Restoration projects. The primary goal of Stream Restoration: A Crucial New BMP Database Module (U5R14) is to develop an information clearinghouse to help guide watershed planners and designers with the most up-to-date design and performance information for this emerging technology. Both urban and agricultural communities are using stream restoration practices to reduce pollution and improve habitat in watersheds across the U.S. Having this type of clearinghouse is critical to assure that communities are implementing the most effective projects.

The Water Environment Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization formed in 1989, is America's leading independent scientific research organization dedicated to wastewater and stormwater issues.