Gregory Granato
Gregory Granato is a hydrologist whose research focuses on developing hydrologic software to provide actionable information for environmental decisionmakers. Gregory has worked with the USGS on projects covering all aspects of hydrology since 1992. Before that time he was an aerospace engineer working on the design of the Space Station water and waste treatment systems.
Biography
Software (currently supported):
SELDM Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model
KTRLine Kendall-Theil Robust Line
Patents:
Automated Groundwater Monitoring System and Method U.S. Patent 6,021,664
Automated self-calibrating water quality monitoring sensor housing assembly U.S. Patent 6,936,156
Publications:
Please see (Scholar) (USGS Pubs warehouse)...
USGS NTCenter Class:
H1843 - Stormwater Runoff Quality Analysis with SELDM Developed and taught this class 2013-present
National Webinars:
NASEM TRB Approaches for Determining and Complying with TMDL Requirements Related to Roadway Stormwater Runoff
Water Research Foundation Integrated Stormwater Management for Highway and Transportation Sector (2017)
NASEM TRB Use and Implementation of the Federal Highway Administration Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model
Other research activities:
NASEM TRB Standing Committees
AKD50 Standing Committee on Hydrology, Hydraulics and Stormwater
NASEM National Cooperative Highway Research Program Research Panels
NCHRP 25-25 Enhancing the International Stormwater BMP Database
NCHRP 25-31 Improving Water Quality in Ultra-Urban Areas
NCHRP 25-32 Measuring and Removing Dissolved Metals from Storm Water
NCHRP 25-40 Long-Term Performance and Life-Cycle Costs of Stormwater BMPs
NCHRP 25-53 Approaches for Determining and Complying with TMDL Requirements
ASCE Outstanding Reviewer Prize: Reston, 2015
Science and Products
Nutrient and metal loads estimated by using discrete, automated, and continuous water-quality monitoring techniques for the Blackstone River at the Massachusetts-Rhode Island State line, water years 2013–14
Flow-proportional composite water samples were collected in water years 2013 and 2014 by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, from the Blackstone River at Millville, Massachusetts (U.S. Geological Survey station 01111230), about 0.5 mile from the border with Rhode Island. Samples...
Sorenson, Jason R.; Granato, Gregory E.; Smith, Kirk P.Compilation of streamflow statistics calculated from daily mean streamflow data collected during water years 1901–2015 for selected U.S. Geological Survey streamgages
Streamflow statistics are needed by decision makers for many planning, management, and design activities. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) StreamStats Web application provides convenient access to streamflow statistics for many streamgages by accessing the underlying StreamStatsDB database. In 2016, non-interpretive streamflow statistics were...
Granato, Gregory E.; Ries, Kernell G.; Steeves, Peter A.Estimating total maximum daily loads with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Rhode Island DOT are assessing and addressing roadway contributions to total maximum daily loads (TMDLs). Example analyses for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, suspended sediment, and total zinc in highway runoff were done by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with FHWA to...
Granato, Gregory E.; Jones, Susan CheungEstimating risks for water-quality exceedances of total-copper from highway and urban runoff under predevelopment and current conditions with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)
The stochastic empirical loading and dilution model (SELDM) was used to demonstrate methods for estimating risks for water-quality exceedances of event-mean concentrations (EMCs) of total-copper. Monte Carlo methods were used to simulate stormflow, total-hardness, suspended-sediment, and total-copper EMCs as stochastic variables. These simulations...
Dunn, Christopher N.; Van Weele, Brian; Granato, Gregory E.; Jones, Susan C.Estimating the risks for adverse effects of total phosphorus in receiving streams with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)
Studies from North Carolina (NC) indicate that increasing concentrations of total phosphorus (TP) and other constituents are correlated to adverse effects on stream ecosystems as evidenced by differences in benthic macroinvertebrate populations in streams across the state. As a result, stringent in-stream criteria based on the Water Quality...
Granato, Gregory E.; Jones, Susan C.A case study demonstrating analysis of stormflows, concentrations, and loads of nutrients in highway runoff and swale discharge with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)
Decisionmakers need information about the quality and quantity of stormwater runoff, the risk for adverse effects of runoff on receiving waters, and the potential effectiveness of mitigation measures to reduce these risks. The Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM) uses Monte Carlo methods to generate stormflows, concentrations,...
Granato, Gregory E.; Jones, Susan C.Methods for evaluating potential sources of chloride in surface waters and groundwaters of the conterminous United States
Chloride exists as a major ion in most natural waters, but many anthropogenic sources are increasing concentrations of chloride in many receiving waters. Although natural concentrations in continental waters can be as high as 200,000 milligrams per liter, chloride concentrations that are suitable for freshwater ecology, human consumption, and...
Granato, Gregory E.; DeSimone, Leslie A.; Barbaro, Jeffrey R.; Jeznach, Lillian C.Stochastic empirical loading and dilution model for analysis of flows, concentrations, and loads of highway runoff constituents
In cooperation with FHWA, the U.S. Geological Survey developed the stochastic empirical loading and dilution model (SELDM) to supersede the 1990 FHWA runoff quality model. The SELDM tool is designed to transform disparate and complex scientific data into meaningful information about the adverse risks of runoff on receiving waters, the potential...
Granato, Gregory E.; Jones, Susan C.Assessing potential effects of highway runoff on receiving-water quality at selected sites in Oregon with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)
In 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Oregon Department of Transportation began a cooperative study to demonstrate use of the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM) for runoff-quality analyses in Oregon. SELDM can be used to estimate stormflows, constituent concentrations, and loads from the area upstream of a stormflow...
Risley, John C.; Granato, Gregory E.Statistics for stochastic modeling of volume reduction, hydrograph extension, and water-quality treatment by structural stormwater runoff best management practices (BMPs)
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM) in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to indicate the risk for stormwater concentrations, flows, and loads to be above user-selected water-quality goals and the potential effectiveness of mitigation measures to reduce...
Granato, Gregory E.Hydrologic Drought Decision Support System (HyDroDSS)
The hydrologic drought decision support system (HyDroDSS) was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Rhode Island Water Resources Board (RIWRB) for use in the analysis of hydrologic variables that may indicate the risk for streamflows to be below user-defined flow targets at a designated site of interest, which is...
Granato, Gregory E.Numerical simulation of groundwater and surface-water interactions in the Big River Management Area, central Rhode Island
The Rhode Island Water Resources Board is considering use of groundwater resources from the Big River Management Area in central Rhode Island because increasing water demands in Rhode Island may exceed the capacity of current sources. Previous water-resources investigations in this glacially derived, valley-fill aquifer system have focused...
Masterson, John P.; Granato, Gregory E.