Evaluation of Applicability of the ESTIMATOR Model for the Analysis of Nutrient Load Characteristics

It has been well-known that the Nonpoint Source (NPS) pollutions are the primary contributors to water quality degradation in the receiving water bodies as well as the Point Source (PS) pollutions. To develop an effective management practice for water quality improvement, pollutant loads must be first estimated. In many studies, the Numeric Integration (NI) method has been used because of its ease of application, irrespective of the total number of samples collected for each storm event. Thus, there have been needs for more accurate pollutant load estimation with a limited number of water quality samples. In this study, NI method and regression method using the USGS ESTIMATOR model were comparatively used to calculate the pollutant loads for the Wolgokri watershed, Gangwon Province. The $NO_{3}$-N, T-N, and T-P loads using NI method and ESTIMATOR model were 13.85 kg/ha, 45.92 kg/ha, and 1.887 kg/ha, and 11.93 kg/ha,43.20 kg/ha, and 1.650 kg/ha, respectively. The estimated loads using ESTIMATOR model were lower than those using NI method by $86\%$, $94\%$, and $87\%$. These discrepancies in the estimated loads using a different load estimation method could be explained in that the total number of samples were not sufficient enough for NI method. Thus, ESTIMATOR model is recommended for the frequently stream discharge and less frequently measured water quality data.