PLUMES2.0

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• Specifications
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Point source discharges released into surface waters are regulated by NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System), created by the Clean Water Act. When writing a permit, a portion of a given water body is allowed to exceed water quality within a mixing zone. Acute and chronic criterion mixing zones are permitted by determining dilution with distance from a discharge point. To determine these mixing zones, dilution models are important tools for NPDES as well as TMDLs and Superfund Sites. PLUMES2.0 builds on the previous work in VISUAL PLUMES, providing a publicly available, open source, plume model. PLUMES2.0 provides concentrations for (1) initial dilution phase dilution (near-field) and (2) Brook's far-field. In the immediate vicinity of a discharge point (near-field), plume dynamics are governed by source buoyancy and momentum, which interact with ambient currents. The interaction is extremely vigorous and causes rapid mixing, which rapidly reduces the plume concentration. This region is called the near-field or zone of initial dilution (ZID) or the initial mixing region. As the plume rises, it entrains ambient water causing the plume to be diluted, thereby reducing the plume density. When the plume is discharged into a stratified receiving waterbody, the rising plume can reach a depth at which the plume density approaches the surrounding density causing the plume to become trapped (trapping depth) below the water surface.

Specifications

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Contact

Please contact Chris Knightes (Knightes.Chris@epa.gov) with questions or comments on PLUMES2.0.