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Predicting the Impact of Urban Development and Municipal Wastewater Reuse on Water Quality in Lake Fort Phantom Hill
Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.orgCitation: Watershed Management to Meet Water Quality Standards and Emerging TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) Proceedings of the Third Conference 5-9 March 2005 (Atlanta, Georgia USA) Publication Date 5 March 2005 701P0105.(doi:10.13031/2013.18111)
Authors: Joan Flowers, Bart Hines, and Rumanda Young
Carter & Burgess, Inc. has completed a water quality assessment project for the City of
Abilene to determine the water quality impacts to Lake Fort Phantom Hill for a series of urban
development scenarios. Lake Fort Phantom Hill is the primary drinking water supply for the
City of Abilene. The land surrounding the lake consists of 438 city-owned residential lots that
are serviced by septic systems. Additional developable areas were identified and simulated using
the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. The purpose of the project was to
determine the water quality impact that would result from development around the lake including
various densities of residential land use, retail/commercial property and recreational amenities.
The project also examined several sewage treatment options. Alternatives to conventional
wastewater collection included on-site septic systems, cluster septic systems, a small wastewater
treatment plants (SBR) or a membrane bio-reactor (MBR). The SWAT model was calibrated to
current conditions within the watershed as the baseline condition for water quality comparisons.
Model simulations were performed for a 10-year period from 1994 through 2003 and examined
pollutant loadings to the lake and resulting in-lake concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus,
sediment, chlorophyll-a, and total dissolved solids. The project also examined the water quality
and yield impacts from supplemental groundwater use and municipal wastewater reuse. Six
scenarios were modeled using SWAT: