THE UTILITY OF THE SEDIMENT BUDGET CONCEPT IN SEDIMENT POLLUTION CONTROL∗

Soil conservation programs and management of sediment pollution in streams are both concerned with land conservation and water quality, but specific management goals are usually governed by separate considerations. Geomorphic concepts, especially the fluvial sediment budget, can be used to examine the relationship between upland soil erosion and sediment pollution in waterways. An example of such an application is given for the upper Tar River basin of North Carolina, showing that achieving soil loss goals will not prevent continuing high stream sediment concentrations and water quality deterioration. The budget concept can also be used to determine whether direct control of sediment input to waterways is needed in addition to on-site erosion control. Usually such applications require assumptions of a constant qualitative character of the sediment budget.