Preparing for the Third Decade of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program (2012) / Chapter Skim
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4 The Way Forward for the Third Decade of National Water-Quality Assessment
4 The Way Forward for the Third Decade of National Water-Quality Assessment
Pages 73-108
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From page 73... ...
in 1987 (NRC, 1987) , needs that NAWQA was designed to meet and has met, remain ongoing and unchanged: · characterize water quality over time, · develop tools to evaluate why water quality has changed, · provide water-quality data comprehensively to the nation in an accessible form, · understand aquatic ecosystems, and, ultimately, · forecast water-quality changes in the future.
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From page 74... ...
A successful national water-quality assessment in Cycle 3 would be a national-scale water-quality surveillance program that evaluates and forecasts how changing land use conditions and climate variability may affect water quality in different settings, and that serves as a tool for water policyand decision-makers as they evaluate policy options impacting the nation's water resources. Many efforts exist to assess water quality in the United States at universities and other federal and state programs at the local and regional levels.
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From page 75... ...
THE FIRST PRIORITY: BASIC SAMPLING NAWQA has produced a rich national database of chemical, physical, and biological water-quality information that covers a diverse range of water resources through a robust monitoring design. These data are essential for assessing the status and trends of the nation's water quality and are used by a large and varied number of stakeholders from other federal agencies to citizens.
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From page 76... ...
Similarly, does NAWQA have adequate water-quality monitoring data to support its water-quality models? Measurements can only provide a snapshot of condition for the time they are taken, and they cannot be used by themselves to forecast future conditions or understand water quality in unsampled areas.
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From page 77... ...
. These same models can be used, if desired, to "backcast," or to start with defining what water quality is desired in the future, and then identify what actions would control, say, nutrient loading to achieve that end result.
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From page 78... ...
The program is developing a national-scale organic carbon model that will simulate the national carbon balance. This naturally leads the SPARROW modeling effort to dissolved oxygen in surface waters and to a national-scale temperature model, the two of which are conceptually linked because dissolved oxygen responds quickly to temperature.
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From page 79... ...
However, the subsequent chapters of the Science Plan that expand on the main themes presented in Chapter 1 could be more clear and succinct. As a result, the committee's positive impression of the Science Plan comes more from the first chapter of the Science Plan and from presentations given by the NAWQA leadership team during the committee's deliberations rather than from the more detailed chapters in the Science Plan.
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From page 80... ...
This is particularly true in documents guiding the vision for the future. Linking Groundwater and Surface Water NAWQA plans to, in part, assess groundwater quality as a source of drinking water in Cycle 3.
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From page 81... ...
that guide the Cycle 3 Science Plan goals and program activities. SOURCE: Design of FigureAssessment Cycle 3 of the National Water Quality 4-1 Program, 2013-2023: Part 2: Science Plan for Improved Water-Quality Information and Management.
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From page 82... ...
The committee developed criteria for determining which objectives are "essential" to NAWQA as a national program. An objective is essential if it contributes to one or more of the following: · monitoring status and trends of surface and groundwater quality and relevant aquatic ecosystem indicators on a national scale; · providing modeling capabilities to understand the effects of multiple water quality stressors on humans and ecosystems, and the impacts of climate change, land use practices, and demographic changes; · assessing regional-scale effects of climate change, changing land use practices, and demographic changes; · forecasting consequences of future scenarios with regional (multistate)
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From page 83... ...
. The data and analyses associated with the Goal 1 objectives continue the original NAWQA objectives of assessing the status and trends of the nation's water quality and the factors that affect water quality and aquatic ecosystems.
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From page 84... ...
Water-quality constituents to be monitored for characterizing surface water quality include: · major ions, · nutrients (N, P, and C) , · suspended sediment, · pesticides,
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From page 85... ...
NAWQA cannot meet its core mission, let alone Cycle 3 Goals, without collecting these data. Objective 1g is the status and trends assessment of the biological condition of the nation's surface waters, which provides an assessment of water quality beyond what chemical measurements alone can provide.
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From page 86... ...
. In addition, under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the United States and Canada, EPA is the official party to address water-quality issues.8 Other units of USGS are active in the Great Lakes, however, and there is a USGS Great Lakes Science Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan (part of the former Biology Division, now the Ecosystem Mission Area9)
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From page 87... ...
In Objective 1d the Science Plan proposes addressing spatial gaps in knowledge of principal aquifers and ancillary data to interpret some changes in water quality. The spatial gaps may indeed be critical to understanding the principal aquifers, while some of the ancillary data needs should be evaluated for cost-effectiveness and benefit to understanding water quality.
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From page 88... ...
2d. Apply understanding of how land use, climate, and natural factors affect water quality to determine the susceptibility of surface-water and groundwater resources to degradation.
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From page 89... ...
Although biological responses may not be directly related to observed nutrient concentrations, as the Science Plan argues, numeric nutrient criteria are based on concentrations; hence the work proposed for this objective will be more relevant to policy decisions if concentrations are an essential component of the analyses. The committee considers Objective 3c to be a core objective despite minimal pursuit of this topic in the past because of funding constraints.
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From page 90... ...
SOURCE: Design of Cycle 3 of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program, 2013-2023: Part 2: Science Plan for Improved Water-Quality Information and Management; January 28 2011. Studies described under this objective not only are relevant to current issues of altered streamflow, but also will be an essential component of NAWQA's analyses of impacts of climate change on water quality and stream ecosystems.
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From page 91... ...
SOURCE: Design of Cycle 3 of the National Water Quality Assessment Program, 2013-2023: Part 2: Science Plan for Improved Water-Quality Information and Management; January 28 2011. thrust of Cycle 3, which the committee supports.
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From page 92... ...
Not only is the societal benefit clear, but also assessing microbial contaminants can be a highly visible activity for the program, clearly demonstrating program impact. NAWQA needs to examine the costs and benefits of obtaining these data when determining whether to pursue this objective.
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From page 93... ...
Goal 3 Multiple Stressors: Objectives "a" (effects of contaminants on stream ecosystems) and "e" (multiple stressors in different regions)
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From page 94... ...
Goal 4 Future Predictions: Objective "c" (predictions of water quality and ecosystem condition for specific watersheds) Objective 4c is important to scientific understanding and to policy and decision-making, so a discussion of trade-offs and the need for partnerships is particularly relevant in this case.
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From page 95... ...
Also, further understanding of water-column chemistry and mercury stream dynamics is a valuable scientific pursuit. Many states collect and analyze fish tissue (Food and Drug Administration standard fillet)
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From page 96... ...
12 See http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/fishshellfish/fishadvisories/index.cfm. 13 The NFSN is defined in the Science Plan as "a national network of monitoring sites that serves as the foundation for systematic tracking of the status and trends of stream and river water quality and for supporting and linking shorter-term studies at smaller scales." In Cycle 2, this network was referred to as the National Trend Networks.
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From page 97... ...
Given the cuts that were made to the program in Cycle 2 to the point that the network is significantly reduced compared to original size, the committee believes that there is a need for additional sites. One indicator is that the SPARROW model was originally calibrated in 1992 with approximately 500 surface water sites that, at that time, were the combination of NAWQA and NASQAN surface water networks.
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From page 98... ...
Number of Multi- n/a n/a 8 Major River 8 Major River Basins; 8 Major River year, Regional Basins; 19 Principal Aquifers Basins, Assessments 19 Principal Aquifers 24 Principal Aquifer Assessments Number of Regional n/a n/a n/a n/a 10-20 Synoptic Studies Number of surface 505 145 84 113 313b water sampling sites in Fixed Site Monitoring Network Sampling frequency One-third of SUs 6-30 samples per 6-26 samples per 6-26 samples per year 18-24 samples per of fixed surface sampled intensively year (most sites year (most sites (most sites sampled year, all years water sampling sites every 3 years with 18- sampled 8 times sampled 6 times per 16 or more times per 30 samples per site per per year) , all year)
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From page 99... ...
e Regional Groundwater Studies are nested within Principal Aquifers and designed to contribute to assessment of status and trends at the regional to national scale and also, by the use of regional flow models, insights into regional groundwater contributions of water and contaminants to streams. f Local Groundwater Studies mimic Cycle 1 and 2 Flow System Studies and are designed to improve understanding of groundwater quality at a more specific, local flow-path scale.
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From page 100... ...
NAWQA used both a linear programming approach and an expert judgment based on semiquantitative analysis to select the reduced number of study units at the beginning of Cycle 2. When used in conjunction, these approaches ensured that the Cycle 2 status and trends network would account for at least 50 percent of the nation's drinking water use,14 a cross 14 When completed, the final group of study units accounted for 61 percent of the national drinking water use.
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From page 101... ...
; the 2002 NRC committee concluded that these approaches were "commendable." Following a similar path, NAWQA's Surface Water Status and Trends Redesign Committee was created in the mid-2000s to modify the Cycle 2 design and operation of networks because of concerns about rising program costs in an environment of stable or declining appropriations. In making recommendations for the redesign, the committee considered the fiscal environment, scientific evidence, and maintenance of established sites with a relatively long trend record, all within the framework of remaining true to the original objectives of the program.
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From page 102... ...
Such sites could, for example, be operated by groups such as the Toxics Substances Hydrology Program, the Global Change Program, or non-USGS programs like the National Science Foundation's National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) .15 15 The National Science Foundation's National Ecological Observatory Network is a re search instrument consisting of infrastructure distributed across the United States designed to conduct continental-scale ecological research.
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From page 103... ...
, nested within a Principal Aquifer, will be collocated with IWS surface-water studies. The third proposed groundwater design element, Local Groundwater Studies, will be nested within RGS and/or may be collocated with surface-water IS, to improve knowledge on specific cause and effect to increase understanding of human activities and natural processes that affect groundwater quality.
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From page 104... ...
This would be helpful not only in directing the communication efforts of the program but also in tracking and illustrating the importance of NAWQA. Indeed, the 2010 Customer Satisfaction Survey indicated that approximately 45 percent of those accessing NAWQA data use it in policy development (Figure 4-3)
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From page 105... ...
Currently, one of the primary mechanisms for tracking program impact is a document titled The National Water-Quality Assessment Program -- Science to Policy and Management. This document is available to the public through a live link on the NAWQA website's home page and is frequently updated by NAWQA personnel.
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From page 106... ...
106 PREPARING FOR THE THIRD DECADE OF THE NAWQA PROGRAM Policy development 45 Resource assessment 44 Drinking water protection 39 Stream protection 39 Outreach/education 37 Water supply/use 37 General interest 33 Human health 28 Regulation 26 Standards and criteria 24 Monitoring strategies 23 Permitting 22 Land-use planning 17 Academic research 17 Sampling protocols 14 Wastewater treatment 11 Recreation 6 0 10 20 30 40 50 Percentages FIGURE 4-3 The 2010 Customer Satisfaction Survey indicated 45 percent of users use NAWQA information for policy development. SOURCE: USGS, personal communication.
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From page 107... ...
. Perhaps this is the reason that the Customer Satisfaction Survey respondents rarely use the data warehouse.
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From page 108... ...
108 PREPARING FOR THE THIRD DECADE OF THE NAWQA PROGRAM CONSEQUENCES OF PRIORITIZATION OF OBJECTIVES In an ideal world, there would be sufficient resources to implement the Cycle 3 Science Plan. Recognizing that some objectives are more directly related to NAWQA's core functions than others, the committee believed it important to parse the Science Plan into what components are essential, need further justification, and are important but not essential to NAWQA's overall mission and goals.
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