Opportunities to Improve the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment Program (2002) / Chapter Skim
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3 NAWQA Cycle II Goals - Status
3 NAWQA Cycle II Goals - Status
Pages 61-92
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From page 61... ...
to assess the water quality of the most important stream and groundwater resources not sampled during Cycle I; (2) to measure the concentrations and frequencies of occurrence of NAWQA target constituents in aquifers and streams used as sources of drinking water; and (3)
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From page 62... ...
The chapter ends with a summary of the conclusions and recommendations of the committee concerning the status goal, themes, objectives, and corresponding investigations planned for Cycle II. RESOURCES NOT PREVIOUSLY SAMPLED AND DRINKING WATER SOURCES The first two new status themes of Cycle II are to assess water resources that were not sampled during Cycle I and to focus more heavily on streams and aquifers that are sources of drinking water (Gilliom et al., 2000b)
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From page 63... ...
Objective S3: Characterize the concentrations and distributions of NAWQA target constituents in aquifers and streams that have the greatest withdrawals of drinking water. Objective S4: Improve the reporting and explanation of the potential risk to human health due to the presence of contaminant mixtures that are frequently found in current or potential sources of drinking water.
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From page 64... ...
. Specifically, the linear program optimized the selection of study units based on drinking water use and chose study units across a representative range of hydrologic settings.
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From page 65... ...
Lakes and reservoirs are also a major source of drinking water for the nation. In addition, differential sedimentation, also known as sediment focusing, occurs prominently in lakes and reservoirs, in contrast to flowing waters, and this may amplify the "signal" of toxic substance accumulation.
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From page 66... ...
These agencies routinely conduct water quality monitoring for a variety of uses such as aquatic life support, fish consumption, primary contact, secondary contact, drinking water supply, and agriculture. The USBR is currently assessing the quality of irrigation water supplied by its projects through its National Irrigation Water Quality Program (www.usbr.gov/niwqp/~.
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From page 67... ...
For example, NAWQA study units should focus on collaborating with and using data collected by other organizations, such as state agencies, EPA, USER, USACE, and NOAA, in assessing the importance of pollutant loadings and surface water-groundwater interactions related to water quality in lakes, reservoirs, and estuaries. In this manner, a better characterization of their water quality and some degree of understanding of the relevant processes may be obtained with a minimum of NAWQA expenditures.
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From page 68... ...
Objective S6: Characterize the concentrations and distributions of total and methyl mercury in streams that have the greatest potential for human exposure to mercury through consumption of drinking water or fish. A number of potential candidates have been suggested for monitoring in Cycle II study units to include methyl mercury, waterborne microbial pathogens, new pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and high-production-volume industrial chemicals (Gilliom et al., 2000b)
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From page 69... ...
The intrinsic difficulty of identifying a manageable list of constituents for monitoring in Cycle II raises the question of what kind of process or method is best suited to this type of judgment. In this regard, the committee notes that a recent NRC report, Classifying Drinking Water Contaminants for Regulatory Consideration (NRC, 2001)
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From page 70... ...
· The NAWQA team should develop a procedure either jointly or with the direct input of EPA or other federal agencies whereby all contaminants can be evaluated and/or ranked according to a variety of criteria, including the availability of analytical methods, known or suspected health or ecological effects, and other factors. Pesticides, Pharmaceuticals, and High-Production-Volume Industrial Chemicals In part to address Objective SS, the USGS has considered adding several new pesticides and groups of related chemicals, such as pharmaceutical products, to the NAWQA list of analyses (Gilliom et al., 2000b)
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From page 71... ...
In contrast, the committee strongly recommends that pharmaceuticals and their degradates should not be added to NAWQA's analytical list until reliable sampling protocols and analytical methods can be validated. As in past cooperative efforts, hopefully NAWQA can collaborate internally with the USGS's Toxic Substances Hydrology Program and/or National Research Program to help refine and establish the requisite sampling and analytical approaches, and then move into an assessment study.
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From page 72... ...
NAWQA should also consider sampling MeHg concentration in the water since that appears to be a good predictor of bioaccumulation of mercury in fish. Microbiological Monitoring The mission of the Water Resources Division (WRD)
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From page 73... ...
Microbial contamination of drinking water supplies is addressed by several existing and proposed rules, including the Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) of 1989, the Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (IESWTR)
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From page 74... ...
The negotiating committee also recommended that EPA develop national water quality criteria for microbial pathogens for stream segments designated by states or tribes for drinking water use (under the Clean Water Act [CWA] authorities)
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For several decades (as reflected by early drinking water regulations such as the TCR) , the drinking water community has relied on coliform bacteria as indicators of the microbiological quality of water.
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Indeed, the specific pathogen monitoring requirements of recent drinking water supply regulations (e.g., the IESWTR) recognize that relying on indicator organisms such as coliform bacteria may not be sufficient to protect public health.
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From page 77... ...
. The proposed strategy was to monitor all surface water sites for E
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From page 78... ...
. For surface water sites, samples were analyzed for two groups of indicator bacteria and one indicator bacterium: total coliform bacteria, fecal coliform bacteria, and Clostridium perfringens.
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From page 79... ...
Dislocated soil particles can be carried in runoff and eventually reach surface water resources, including streams, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and wetlands. While sediment deposition at the mouths of rivers can create valuable wetlands such as the Mississippi River Delta, suspended and deposited sediments affect the utility of water resources in a number of adverse ways.
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From page 80... ...
Lower rates of primary productivity as a consequence of turbidity-limited light penetration result in reductions in food resources supporting aquatic food webs (Waters, 1995~. The effects of excess sediments deposited in the stream channel are arguably even more profound than the effects of suspended sediments because essential feeding, breeding, and refuge habitats are altered.
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From page 81... ...
The greater the amount of suspended sediment, the more expensive is this filtration. Annual costs to the water treatment industry from sediment were estimated to be between $458 million and $661 million in 1984 (Holmes, 1988~.
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From page 82... ...
. we do not seem to have a truly informed idea of how much soil erosion is occurring in this country, let alone of the processes of sediment movement and deposition." They recommend a comprehensive national system of monitoring soil erosion and downstream sediment movement, including suspended sediment and bedload.
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From page 83... ...
The study units differed in their reporting of findings related to suspended sediment, even though all collected sediment data. Suspended sediment is not one of the seven water quality components being compared among study units (i.e., national synthesis topics)
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From page 84... ...
is studying sediment as it relates to riparian health, abandoned mine land restoration, and salinity control (USGS-BLM, 1997~. USDA's Agricultural Research Service conducts research on soil erosion from agricultural lands and the movement of sediment to water resources.
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From page 85... ...
Sediment is identified by states as the leading source of impairment in streams and rivers. NAWQA continues to collect data on suspended sediment in all of its Cycle I study units, but data are not being synthesized so that regional or national implications can be made.
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From page 86... ...
The committee concurs with this general strategy, as well as that of focusing on those sources most likely to be impacted by heavy urban and agricultural activities. The committee also finds that the proposal to establish a national drinking water team within NAWQA as it enters Cycle II is both logical and appropriate.
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From page 87... ...
For example, NAWQA study units should focus on collaborating with and using data collected by other organizations, such as state agencies, EPA, USER, USACE, and NOAA, in assessing the importance of pollutant loadings and surface watergroundwater interactions to water quality in lakes, reservoirs, and estuaries. In this manner, some degree of understanding of the relevant processes may be obtained with a minimum of NAWQA expenditures.
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From page 88... ...
(This is of particular importance for watersheds that will require a TMDL for sediment.) · Existing habitat survey data should be synthesized to quantify the extent of habitat impairment resulting from excess sedimentation in Cycle II study units and to investigate the relationship between habitat impairment and land use (and if possible, from Cycle I data as well)
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From page 89... ...
1997b. National primary drinking water regulations: Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule notice of data availability; Proposed rule.
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From page 90... ...
2000c. National primary drinking water regulations: Ground Water Rule; Proposed rules.
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From page 91... ...
1999. Emerging drinking water contaminants: Overview and role of the National Water Quality Assessment Program.
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From page 92... ...
1994. Guidelines for Collection and Processing Samples of Streambed Sediment for Analysis of Trace Elements and Organic Contaminants for the National WaterQuality Assessment Program.
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