Opportunities to Improve the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment Program (2002) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Pages 1-16
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Perhaps the most important facet of the program is the similar design of each investigation and the use of standardized methods that make comparisons among disparate study units possible. Comparing and analyzing data from individual study units has led to regional and national assessments of water quality, collectively referred to as "national synthesis." Nearing completion of Cycle I, USGS scientists are planning for the 1
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This report was written by the Committee to Improve the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment Program, comprised of 10 (originally 11)
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Although some of the report's conclusions and recommendations revisit issues discussed by previous WSTB committees, the majority of the report concerns the increased emphasis in Cycle II on water quality trends and understanding the causative factors of water quality conditions. It is important to state that the structure of this report, unlike many NRC reports, does not directly follow the committee's statement of task in terms of the order and discussion of major study topics.
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TRANSITION FROM CYCLE I TO CYCLE II: REPRESENTATIVENESS OF STUDY UNITS Cycle I of NAWQA set out to accomplish its status, trends, and understanding goals with plans to sample 60 study units (reduced to 59 in 1996) that would cover more than half of the nation's land area and account for about 70 percent of the nation's drinking water used However, because of budgetary constraints, a total of eight study units that were slated for monitoring in 1997-2001 of Cycle I were never initiated (see Figure 1-1 and Table 1-1~.
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· NAWQA needs to clarify the representativeness of Cycle II study units related to major types of land use that can heavily impact water quality, such as mining, forest products, petrochemical, and related industries. ASSESSMENT OF NAWQA CYCLE II GOALS As noted previously, various iterations of the NIT report Study-Unit Design Guidelines for Cycle II of the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA)
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As noted previously, the committee was charged to examine the completeness and appropriateness of priority issues already selected for broad investigation under the national synthesis component of the program. The committee supports these existing priority national synthesis topics pesticides, nutrients, volatile organic compounds, and trace elements and commends NAWQA for its past work on these important topics.
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Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program.
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In this regard, NAQWA has established water quality baselines and monitoring networks in the study units in Cycle I and is operating at time and spatial scales sufficient to establish these relationships. Several major recommendations regarding the ability of the Cycle II NAWQA program to meet these trend themes and related objectives are provided below: · NAWQA should continue emphasis on an integrated approach to water quality monitoring network design that attempts to coordinate efforts among various local, state, and federal agencies in an effort to make study unit designs as efficient and cost-effective as is possible.
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. To assess water quality impacts resulting from agriculture practices, NAWQA should consider studies related to exemplary state water quality protection initiatives (e.g., California's Pesticide Contamination Prevention Act, Nebraska's Ground Water Management and Protection Act, North Carolina's Nutrient Sensitive Waters)
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The basic NIT plan is for "targeted studies" to focus on a limited set of the most important water quality topics and for linkage of these field studies with models and other parts of the Cycle II design. Each specific targeted study will be designed and executed by "topical teams," composed of one or more Cycle II study units, and they will be assisted by a single, national Hydrologic Systems Team (MST)
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While the NIT report recognizes the resource problem, its resolution will ultimately govern what can be accomplished in Cycle II. Given these general conclusions from the review of NAWQA plans for the understanding goal in Cycle II, the committee provides the following major recommendations: · Conducting mass balances on constituents of concern is a worthy effort in Cycle II.
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Both the national synthesis teams and the individual study units are providing useful information on all facets of the program, including sampling design, implementation issues, results, and interpretations. Information is being conveyed through several types of written reports, journal articles, professional papers, digital products, the NAWQA Internet site, and an on-line Data Warehouse.
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. The NAWQA Leadership Team should continue to work with national synthesis teams and individual study units to maintain and improve the quality of written reports, to ensure that the needs of policy makers are met, and to improve the content and consistency of NAWQA Web sites.
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In the committee's view, NAWQA program staff have done an excellent job of establishing cooperative relationships within USGS and with external programs. These efforts have strengthened NAWQA and have improved the visibility and viability of the USGS as a whole.
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Of particular note, USGS scientists should support opportunities to use NAWQA analyses and the SPARROW (Spatially Referenced Regressions on Watershed Attributes) watershed-scale model in the development of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs)
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Although NAWQA has done an exemplary job of downsizing to 42 planned study units for Cycle II, it cannot continue to downsize and still be considered a national water quality assessment. Though it could certainly be redesigned, this would likely undo the basis for assessment of trends and would waste a decade or more of effort.
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