Selecting the preservative that the wood is going to be treated with changes the model results.
The use of treated wood products in aquatic environments is a common practice developed to protect the wood from degradation by organisms capable of consuming wood. Treated wood is a concern in Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultations because wood preservatives do leach or migrate from pressure treated wood at known rates.
The algorithms used in this model were developed to predict preservative loss rates as a function time or accumulated rainfall and the environmental factors that influence them (receiving water pH, salinity, temperature and preservative retention). To be useful, preservative loss rates must be predictable. The history of measuring loss rates indicates that how the products are produced is important. To improve predictability, industry has developed production Best Management Practices (BMPs). Most of the algorithms used in this model are based on leaching studies of products produced using these BMPs and model predictions are only valid for projects specifying BMP treatments.
More information on selecting the appropriate preservative for your project may be found in Treated Wood in Aquatic Environments - A Specification and Environmental Guide to Selecting, Installing and Managing Wood Preservation Systems in Aquatic and Wetland Environments (Western Wood Preservers Institute, Dec. 20, 2012).