Development of a Turbidity Prediction Methodology for Runoff-Erosion Models

Surface water bodies can be impaired by turbidity and excessive sediment loading due to urban development, construction activities, and agricultural practices. Turbidity has been considered as a proxy for evaluating water quality, aquatic habitat, and aesthetic impairments in surface waters. The US Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) has listed turbidity and sediment as major pollutants for construction site effluent. Recently proposed USEPA regulations for construction site runoff led to increased interest in methods to predict turbidity in runoff based on parameters that are more commonly predicted in runoff–erosion models. In this study, a turbidity prediction methodology that can be easily incorporated into existing runoff–erosion models has been developed using fractions of sand, silt, and clay plus suspended sediment concentration of eight parent soils from locations in Oklahoma and South Carolina, USA.