Committees & Work Groups - Nutrients

Goals of the Nutrient Module:

• To eliminate adverse impacts of eutrophication, including hypoxia, resulting from human activities
  
  
• To better understand the causes of eutrophication and its symptoms including hypoxia, algal blooms, and changes in the abundance and diversity of marine organisms

An overabundance of both carbon and nitrogen from a variety of sources can lead to low levels of oxygen in the waters of the harbor.  Fish kills and die-offs of bottom-dwelling organisms can be attributed to low levels of oxygen in the water, particularly in the summertime when warmer waters naturally hold less oxygen. Although these hypoxic (low-oxygen) conditions seem to be more of a problem in Long Island Sound than in the Harbor Estuary, there are some places in the Harbor Estuary where nutrient enrichment and hypoxia are problematic.

The Nutrients Work Group is now focused on the assessment of loadings of both nitrogen and carbon to the harbor, the impacts those loadings cause, and what management actions that can be taken to improve water quality.  This is being done primarily through the use of the System-Wide Eutrophication Model (SWEM) and the development of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs). 

Preliminary costs analyses for potential upgrades to waste water treatment plants have also been assembled and will be considered as the TMDL implementation plan is developed.

For more information, contact NWG chair Robert M. Nyman at 212-637-3816.

Meeting Minutes

• April 20, 2007 | PDF
• January 18, 2007 | PDF
• July 25, 2006 | PDF
• May 9, 2005 | PDF
• September 29, 2004 | PDF
• August 18, 2004 | PDF
• June 03, 2004 | PDF
• May 18, 2004 | PDF
• February 12, 2004 | PDF
• March 28, 2003 | PDF
• December 17, 2002 | PDF
• November 26, 2002 | PDF
• September 18, 2002 | PDF
• July 24, 2002 | PDF
• April 19, 2001 | PDF
• March 8, 2001 | PDF

Reference Documents

• Report and Presentation to Hackensack Model Evaluation Group (May 2011)   | PDF
  
  
• NY and NJ comments on draft nutrient plan (Jan/Feb 2011)  | PDF
  
  
• Review of NY/NJ Harbor Nutrient/DO TMDL Plan: Presentation (Nov 2010) | PDF
  
  
• HydroQual Technical Report: Narrative of Dissolved Oxygen Improvements (Sept 2010) | PDF 
  
  
• HydroQual Technical Report: Evaluation of Ammonia Toxicity (Sept 2010) | PDF 
  
  
• Definition - Volume weighted days of non attainment  (August 2009) | PDF
  
  
• HydroQual Tech Memo: Hudson River Flux Calculations and East River BOD (August 2010) | PDF
  
  
• ORD Nutrient Control Design Manual (August 2010) | PDF
  3.7 MB file
  
  
• Status of Nutrient TMDL Plan: Presentation (July 2010) | PDF
  
  
• Nutrient Loading Tables (July 2010) | PDF
  
  
• Progress on Completing a Dissolved Oxygen Management Plan/
  TMDL for The NY/NJ Harbor (July 2010) 1.3 MB file, 192 pgs. | PDF
  
  
• Final Technical Report - Assessment of NY Bight Data Technical Memoranda,
  April 2010 | PDF
  1.5 MB file
  
  
• Steps for Completing a Dissolved Oxygen Management Plan/TMDL for NY-NJ Harbor, Feb 2010 | PDF
  
  
• NYS Marine Dissolved Oxygen Standard Fact Sheet, January 2010 | PDF
  
  
• NYS Interpretation Guidance for Marine Dissolved Oxygen Standard,
  January 2010 | PDF
  
  
• State-EPA Nutrient Innovations Task Group releases "An Urgent Call to Action,"
  a 170-page report that identifies options on how to improve nutrient pollution prevention and reduction at the state and national level, September 2009 | PDF
  
  
• New York Bight Monitoring Update, June 2009 | PDF
  1.1 MB file, 12 slides
  
  
• Status of Nutrient TMDLs Evaluations, June 2009 | PDF
  1 MB file, 30 slides
  
  
• Sub-Regional Evlauations, May 2009 | PDF
  6.6 MB file, 473 pgs.
  
  
• Technical Memo: Planned Improvements and Limit of Technology
  Regional SWEM Simulations, June 2008 | PDF
  
  
• Nutrient Loading Tables Users Guide - February 2008 | PDF
  • Task 1 - Tables of C and N Loadings (English Units) | PDF
  • Task 1 - Tables of C and N Loadings (Metric Units) | PDF
  • Task 2 - Technical memo regarding estimates for MS4 load reductions | PDF
  • Scope of work for Tasks 4, 5, 6 and 7 | PDF
    
    
• New Jersey Harbor Dischargers Group Nutrient Cost Analysis (2008) | PDF
  5.1 MB file, 599 pgs.
  
  
• New York City Nutrient Cost Analysis (2007) | PDF
  33.8 MB file, 904 pgs.
  
  
• HEP Adoption of SWEM (2006) | PDF
  
  
• "What-would-it-take" Management Questions (2006) | PDF
  2.67 MB file, 141 pgs.
  
  
• Data Collection Program in Support of the Harbor-wide Eutrophication Model for the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program. Draft Report. Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. January 5, 1995.
  
  
• Assessment of Historical Phytoplankton Characteristics and Bloom Phenomena in the New York Harbor Estuarine and New York Bight Ecosystems. Preliminary Report. E.M. Cosper, Coastal and Environmental Studies, Inc., Bohemia, NY. May 4, 1995
  
  
• Status Report on New York Bight Nutrients Modeling. HydroQual, Inc. Final New York Bight Restoration Plan Attachment 1. September 24, 1993.
  
  
• Tech memo: SWEM Calibration in NJ Tributaries (2002) | PDF
  
  
• Nutrients and Organic Enrichment. A. Keller, et al., Univ. of Rhode Island, June 1991 | PDF (12.2 MB file) | PDF (Appendices, 4.7 MB file)
  
  
• Progress Report and Recommendations on SWEM (2000) | PDF
  

New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program • 290 Broadway, 24th Floor • New York, NY 10007-1866
Phone: 212-637-3816 • Fax: 212-637-3889 • E-mail: info@harborestuary.org • Site Index • Site Search