The Development of Watershed Scale TMDLS

Life cycle assessment of nutrient remediation and bioenergy production potential from the harvest of hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata)

“…Such nutrient releases can turn trigger major algal blooms in treated water bodies (Bates and Hentges, 1976;Hodgson and Carter, 1982), and potentially in downstream systems that receive the pulsed nutrient fluxes. Given growing concerns with harmful algal blooms (e.g., Heisler et al, 2008) and the ongoing implementation of nutrient mitigation programs for many watersheds (e.g., Haire et al, 2007), there is a clear impetus for development of hydrilla control techniques that are more sensitive to the issue of nutrient liberation (Gu, 2006). Finally, some ecological research indicates that moderate levels of hydrilla coverage can have high habitat value for many native fish and wildlife species (Schramm and Jirka, 1989;Esler, 1990;Bonvechio and Bonvechio, 2006).…”