Opportunities to Improve the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment Program (2002) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 17-41
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 17... ...
Program was created in 1985 to better assess historical, current, and future water quality conditions and trends in representative river basins and aquifers across the United States using highly consistent methods. A primary objective of the NAWQA program is to describe relationships between natural factors, human activities, and water quality conditions and to define those factors that most affect water quality in different parts of the nation.
|
From page 18... ...
Perhaps the most important facet of the program is that the similar design of each investigation and the use of standardized methods make comparisons among disparate study units possible. Combining, comparing, and analyzing data from individual study units has led to regional and national assessments of water quality, collectively referred to as "national synthesis." More specifically, national synthesis also includes information from other programs, agencies, and researchers to produce regional and national assessments for priority water quality issues.
|
From page 19... ...
After evaluating five early NAWQA reports, visiting pilot study locations, and interviewing users of NAWQA products, the NRC committee released its final report, A Review of the USGS National Water Quality Assessment Pilot Program, in 1990. That report recommended that during full-scale implementation, some study units should be selected in which both surface water and groundwater are jointly investigated to better understand such integrated systems.
|
From page 20... ...
This report presents the WSTB's most recent effort to advise the USGS on the NAWQA program as it completes its first cycle of intensive data collection, which was focused on water quality conditions in the United States. Although some of the report's conclusions and recommendations revisit the issues discussed by previous WSTB committees, the majority of the report concerns the increased emphasis in Cycle II on defining long-term water quality trends and understanding the causative factors of water quality conditions.
|
From page 21... ...
The aforementioned NIT report describes the design and implementation strategy for Cycle II investigations in NAWQA study units regarding the major change in emphasis among the three NAWQA goals along with their corresponding themes and objectives. As such, it is cited frequently throughout this report.
|
From page 22... ...
Issue 1, to "recommend methods for the improved understanding of the causative factors affecting water quality conditions," is addressed primarily in Chapter 5, but pertinent issues are also discussed in Chapters 3 and 4. Issue 2, to "determine whether information produced in the program can be extrapolated so as to allow inferences about water quality conditions in areas not studied intensely in NAWQA," is addressed in Chapter 2 in terms of the representativeness of the reduced study unit framework; in Chapters 3 and 4 in discussing the adequacy of monitoring and monitoring networks; and further in Chapter 5 in terms of extrapolation and forecasting.
|
From page 23... ...
Study and covers much of the geographic area of the study units that were not conducted because of budget constraints. Chapter 2 of this report includes a detailed discussion and assessment of the number of study unit investigations planned for Cycle II.
|
From page 24... ...
24 .1 _ g ~ an ~ 13 ir ~ o 9 ' no ~ o CR CE ~ .
|
From page 25... ...
INTRODUCTION TABLE 1-1 Monitored and Planned Cycle I NAWQA Study Units 25 Starting Abbreviation Name States in Study Unit Year ACAD Acadian-Pontchartrain Drainages LA, MS 1997 ACFB Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basins AL, FL, GA 1991 ALBE Albemarle-Pamlico Drainages NC, VA 1991 ALMN Allegheny-Monongahela River Basins MD, NY, PA, WV 1994 CACI Canadian-Cimarron River Basins CO, KS, NM, OK, None TX CAZB Central Arizona Basins AZ 1994 CCPT Central Columbia Plateau ID, WA 1991 CHEY Cheyenne-Belle Fourche River Basins NE, SD, WY None CNBR Central Nebraska Basins NE 1991 CONN Connecticut, Housatonic, and Thames River CT, MA, NH, NY, 1991 Basins RI, VT COOK Cook Inlet Basin AK 1997 DELR Delaware River Basin NY, NJ, PA 1997 DLMV Delmarva Peninsula DE, MD, VA 1997 EIWA Eastern Iowa Basins IA, MN 1994 GAFL Georgia-Florida Coastal Plain Drainages FL, GA 1991 GRSL Great Salt Lake Basins ID, UT, WY 1997 HDSN Hudson River Basin CT, MA, NJ, NY, VT 1991 KANA Kanawha-New River Basin NC, VA, WV 1994 KANS Kansas River Basin CO, KS, NE None KNTY Kentucky River Basin KY None LERI Lake Erie-Lake St. Clair Drainages IN, MI, OH, PA, NY 1994 LINJ Long Island-New Jersey Coastal Drainages NJ, NY 1994 LIRB Lower Illinois River Basin IL 1994 LSUS Lower Susquehanna River Basin MD, PA 1991 LTEN Lower Tennessee River Basin AL, GA, TN 1997 MARK Middle Arkansas River Basin CO, KS, OK None MIAM Great and Little Miami River Basins IN, OH 1997 MISE Mississippi Embayment AR, KY, LA, MO, 1994 MS, TN MOBL Mobile River Basin AL, GA, MS 1997 NECB New England Coastal Basins MA, ME, NH, RI 1997 NPLT North Platte River Basin CO, NE, WY None NROK Northern Rockies Intermontane Basins ID, MT, WA 1997 NVBR Nevada Basin and Range CA, NV 1991 OAHU Oahu HI 1997 OZRK Ozark Plateaus AR, KS, MO, OK 1991 POTO Potomac River Basin DC, MD, PA, VA, 1991 WV PUGT Puget Sound Basin WA 1994 REDN Red River of the North Basin MN, ND, SD 1991 RIOG Rio Grande Valley CO, NM, TX 1991 SACR Sacramento River Basin CA 1994 continues
|
From page 26... ...
To maximize their utility, study unit investigations are designed to meet the national synthesis requirements for consistent and integrated information, yet to remain flexible enough to meet individual, local needs of study units for assessing water quality. Each study unit investigation in Cycle I consisted of four interrelated components (Gilliom et al., 1995; Miller and Wilber, 1999~:
|
From page 27... ...
As noted previously, the occurrence and distribution assessment was the primary focus during Cycle I for all study units because it provides the foundation of data and information needed for later study unit investigation components. Surface Water Because the national study design for surface water and groundwater studies in Cycle I has been described in detail (Gilliom et al., 1995, 1998)
|
From page 28... ...
Data from integrator sites provide a general check on the persistence of water quality influences evident at indicator sites associated with specific environmental settings (see more below) and are used for water budget and contaminant transport assessments.
|
From page 29... ...
A total of 114 aquifer surveys and 105 land-use studies were completed in the 51 study units during Cycle I (Robert Gilliom, USGS, personal communication, 2001~. Of the 105 land-use studies, 67 targeted agricultural settings, 34 targeted urban settings, and 4 targeted forested settings.
|
From page 30... ...
First, the regular accumulation of consistent and comparable water quality assessments for some of the largest, diverse, and important hydrological systems of the nation stands by itself as a major contribution to the knowledge of regional and national water quality. Second, the NAWQA national synthesis builds on and expands the findings from individual study units by combining them with other historical information (e.g., land use)
|
From page 31... ...
In this regard, at four of its five scheduled meetings the committee heard presentations and had discussions with several USGS-NAWQA personnel, including the chief hydrologist of the USGS, the NAWQA chief, NAWQA national synthesis chief, three national synthesis topic chiefs (VOCs, pesticides, and ecological synthesis) , two study unit chiefs (Santa Ana Basin and Long Island-New Jersey Coastal Drainages)
|
From page 32... ...
These documents can be further classified as to whether they are generated at the study unit level (e.g., 36 individual study unit circulars from Cycle I have been published) ; are based on findings from national synthesis topics (e.g., The Quality of Our Nation's Waters: Nutrients and Pesticides; USGS, 1999~; are technical documentation of study design, field protocols, and methods comparisons (Koterba et al., 1995~; or are of national-level interest and outreach (e.g., Review of Phosphorus Control Measures in the United States and Their Effects on Water Quality, Lithe, 1999~.
|
From page 33... ...
In addition, some interesting patterns were observed during the early Cycle I analyses. For example, in the Yakima River Basin (Cuffney et al., 1997)
|
From page 34... ...
Assessment of Linkages Between Changes in Phosphorus Loads and Clean Water Act Policy One of the major accomplishments of NAWQA to date is the use of historical data on phosphorus loadings to evaluate the effects of various phosphorus control measures implemented in response to the Clean Water Act (Lithe, l999~.
|
From page 35... ...
More specifically, data from NAWQA are representative of a variety of phosphorus control measures and therefore may be used to evaluate the effects of various control strategies. To date, data show that phosphorus concentrations are reported to be decreasing in many NAWQA study units, largely a result of the reduction in the use of phosphate detergents and phosphorus limits at treatment plants.
|
From page 36... ...
. Improved Methods and Detection Levels for Chemical Contaminants NAWQA program personnel have worked to refine and improve existing analytical methods while simultaneously lowering their detection and reporting levels (i.e., concentrations)
|
From page 37... ...
The committee's initial assessment finds that NAWQA is a well-organized, managed, and implemented program. It has significantly contributed to understanding the quality of the nation' s water resources and the natural and anthropogenic factors that affect their quality.
|
From page 38... ...
in the immediate future. One major consequence of these budgetary constraints was a strong recommendation for the reduction in the total number of study units investigated in Cycle II rather than reducing the extent of monitoring and assessment activities.
|
From page 39... ...
However, NAWQA program personnel have also worked to refine and improve existing analytical methods while simultaneously lowering their detection and reporting levels (i.e., concentrations)
|
From page 40... ...
1998. Methods for Comparing Water-Quality Conditions Among National Water Quality Assessment Study Units, 1992-1995.
|
From page 41... ...
1994. National Water Quality Assessment Program: The Challenge of National Synthesis.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.