Effective engagement of stakeholders in Total Maximum Daily Load development and implementation

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) identify the maximum amount of pollution that a water body can receive and still support its designated uses and allocates the maximum load to specific sources in the watershed. In the United States, The Clean Water Act requires public participation in the process of TMDL development. This requirement has been met through simple presentation of results at public meetings, strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, and/or to advisory committees in which stakeholders participate in critical decisions about TMDL definition and implementation. These decisions include model selection and assumptions, selection of water quality endpoints, load allocations, TMDL review, and implementation planning. In this article, we discuss the benefits and challenges of early and targeted engagement of stakeholders in TMDL development through a participatory modelling process based on our experience in Utah and Vermont.