Watershed Technical Workgroup

The Watershed Technical Workgroup provides a forum for communication and discussion between and among jurisdictions and other Chesapeake Bay Program partners on technical issues related to best management practices, Watershed Model processes and management strategy development and implementation reporting.

Meetings

‍View all meetings‍ View group calendar

About

Charge and Functions

The charge of the cross-sector Watershed Technical Workgroup is to provide a forum for communication and discussion between and among the jurisdictions and other CBP participants on technical issues related to Best Management Practices (BMPs), Chesapeake Bay Watershed Model processes, and management strategy development and implementation reporting. Functions include:

  • Support the Water Quality Goal Implementation Team (WQGIT) and the greater Bay Program partners in implementing management strategies to achieve the nutrient and sediment reductions necessary to restore the Bay.
  • Support development of BMP Expert Panel technical appendices.
  • Review and approve the recommended BMP definitions and efficiencies from source workgroups and local jurisdictions, in collaboration with the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) and WQGIT workgroups. Ensure that BMPs are consistent across sectors and communicated clearly.
  • Review and approve how BMPs are simulated in the Watershed Model to ensure that the assumptions accurately reflect real world conditions and are consistent and equitable between the different sectors.
  • Review and approve how BMPs are tracked and reported by CBP partner jurisdictions and agencies for use in the Watershed Model to ensure that the assumptions accurately reflect real world conditions and are consistent and equitable between the different sectors and are communicated clearly.
  • Provide technical review & recommendations to the CBP Modeling team and WQGIT on updates to Watershed Model Processes, input data, and assessment of annual progress.

Membership

The current list of signatory and at-large members can be found on the "members" sidebar and in the following membership list, updated March 2026. 

To learn more about the Watershed Technical Workgroup, view the Watershed Technical Workgroup Welcome and Introduction Training presentation for new members, last updated in November 2021. 

Projects

Phase 7 Model Development

In Progress

These updated modeling tools will be used by the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership to inform decisions related to the nutrient and sediment reduction goals outlined in the revised Watershed Agreement.

BMP Expert Panels Resources

Complete

A list of all BMP Expert Panel Reports and the protocols that guide the development, review and approval of loading and effectiveness estimates for nutrient and sediment controls in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Model.

Publications

Documentation for Scenario Builder

Publication date:

Creation of the Nutrient and Scenario Builder tool was achieved with the excellent assistance of the Chesapeake Bay Program Information Technology contractor’s team led by Jessica Rigelman. With her leadership, Jonathan Lewis, Robert Weiss, Mark Lane, and Aaron Knister built a complex functional software product under a very tight deadline. Their questions along the way helped to strengthen the methodology. Without Jessica Rigelman’s encouragement of all of us, this project would not have been accomplished.

View document [PDF, 3.1 MB] Documentation for Scenario Builder

Federal Agency Progress Evaluation

Publication date:

The EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Office contracted AH/BC Navy JV, LLC (BC) to assess the progress of each federal agency toward their goals utilizing the results of the Chesapeake Assessment Scenario Tool (CAST) 2019 Progress scenario and comparing those loads to the federal planning goals (FPGs) defined for each jurisdiction. This effort includes a comparison of the best management practices (BMPs) currently credited to federal agencies in CAST and the agency’s record of implemented BMPs to assess the accuracy and completeness of the federal BMP record reported by the jurisdictions.

View document [PDF] Federal Agency Progress Evaluation

Our Members