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Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Look-Up Tool
The tool was developed to allow New Jersey’s municipal stormwater program coordinators to quickly identify Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) information in relation to Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems. It should also prove useful to others with an interest in water quality issues that affect our state.
To use the TMDL Look-Up Tool, go to the dropdown feature below and locate your municipality. The tool will display a list of watersheds and established, approved or adopted TMDL information associated with the selected municipality. To view the TMDL document and find Implementation strategies, click on the associated link: "View the TMDL Document". Once you have opened the TMDL document you can locate the Implementation section using the table of contents and use this information to identify measures you can implement in your community.
Why use the TMDL Look-Up Tool? This tool allows the user to quickly identify Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) information associated with any segment of surface water wholly or partially within or bordering the Tier A Municipality. Municipalities can use this information to assess and address local water quality issues in relation to operation of their Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) as required under the Tier A MS4 Master General Permit No. NJ0141852. Permittees are required to identify TMDL information for inclusion in municipal Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans. Users may refer to the Implementation section of each TMDL report as a starting point for developing strategies to address identified pollutants at the local level.
What is a TMDL? The TMDL may be viewed as a pollutant budget for an impaired waterbody. It is the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet surface water quality standards. The TMDL must be calculated so that water quality standards will be attained in consideration of critical conditions and seasonal variation and must include a margin of safety (MOS) to account for uncertainty. The TMDL is allocated among all of the sources of the pollutant, including point sources, nonpoint sources, and natural background. A TMDL implementation plan is developed to identify the suite of measures that are needed to reduce loads from each source to levels that will meet surface water quality standards. The measures include both regulatory and non-regulatory actions. Regulatory measures typically include effluent limitations or additional measures that are incorporated into wastewater or stormwater permits issued pursuant to the New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) program. Non-regulatory measures include best practices for agricultural land use, riparian restoration, and promoting watershed stewardship activities such as rain gardens and rain barrels.
What if there are water quality concerns in the lakes or streams in my town? The town could target the implementation of its Stormwater Program, using guidance from the TMDL. For example, if a stream within a town has higher levels of phosphorus, the town could target increased educational efforts on the proper use of fertilizer, increased enforcement of pet waste and wildlife feeding ordinances and more frequent cleaning of catch basins in the part of town that drains to the impaired stream. Stream-side vegetative buffers and rain gardens could also be installed to filter out excess phosphorus.
For a town with a river with higher levels of pathogens or coliform bacteria, the town could target its illicit connection detection and elimination program to the area of town that drains to the impaired river. If wildlife such as Canada geese are the suspected source, a goose management plan could be developed and implemented. For further guidance on identifying and reducing municipal storm water related pollutants please see the “Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Guidance for Tier A MS4 Permittees”.
For more information about TMDLs, see NJDEP’s Bureau of Environmental Analysis, Restoration and Standards or US Environmental Protection Agency’s TMDL web site at www.epa.gov/tmdl. You may also explore an interactive waterway assessment tool at USEPA’s How's My Waterway website.
Disclaimer: This tool is designed for informational purposes and should not be used for legal, engineering or surveying purposes. This organization makes no warranty either expressed or implied, regarding the condition of the product or its fitness for any particular purpose. The burden for determining fitness for use lies entirely with the user. Although these files have been processed successfully on computers at this organization, no warranty is made by this organization regarding the use of these data on any other system, nor does the fact of distribution constitute or imply any such warranty. See also "Use Constraints" for additional distribution and/or data use requirements.
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