1. Cara Cowan Watts Graduate Student Biosystems Engineering
Monitoring
Cara Cowan Watts
Graduate Student
Biosystems Engineering

2. Source of Class Materials
Presentations and Handouts
adapted from
The U.S. EPA’s
Water Quality Standards Academy
November 27-December 1, 2006
Washington, DC

3. Monitoring Framework Identify Monitoring Objective
Design Monitoring Project
Understanding
Our Water Resources
Convey information
and results
Collect data
in the field and lab
Interpret data
Manage data

4. Monitoring Objectives
What does your boss need?
Are the streams healthy?
What is the condition of waters entering or leaving the state or tribal jurisdiction?
Are the fish safe to eat?
Is this restoration project working?
Designated Use(s)

5. Designated Uses

6. Objectives and Scale
Assess a specific water quality improvement project
Stream reach scale
Identifying healthy and degraded streams within a watershed
Watershed Scale
Determine baseline condition
Region, State, Reservation or Nationwide
Evaluate water quality trends

7. Designing Monitoring Program
Take broader Monitoring Objectives and translate them into specific monitoring goals
Goals expressed as questions which specify needs
“Is it safe to swim in the stream?”
Pathogens, nutrients, and flow
Existing data available
Who, what, how and where of monitoring

8. Biggest Design Factor

9. Costs Per Site Costs per site $1000/site $5000/site
- Seasonal employees - Permanent Staff
- 2 person field crews - 3 to 4 person field crews
- Consumables - Consumables + equipment
- Sites close-by, easy access - Remote sites
- Simple reporting - Glossy reporting
Lab costs (per sample):
Water (Conventionals): $70 to $150
Water (Metals): $25 to $115
Water (Priority pollutants): $100 to $200
Water (Pathogens): $20 to $50
Fish Tissue Contaminants: $150 to $1500
Macroinvertebrates (identification & counting): $150 to $350

10. Who Monitors?
States and Tribes implement monitoring programs under CWA 106
Federal agencies monitor to support their management and research needs
Volunteer and citizen groups monitor to understand local conditions
Other organizations include local government & academic organizations

11. What Should be Monitored?
Select core indicators appropriate for assessing attainment with designated uses
Aquatic life
Recreation
Public water supply
Fish and shellfish consumption
Identify supplemental indicators as needed
Address potential problems in watersheds
Identify causes of biological impairment
Investigate emerging concerns

12. What in Detail Aquatic Life Recreation Drinking Water Fish / Shellfish
Biological communities
Basic chemistry (e.g. DO, pH)
Nutrients
Flow
Habitat assessment
Landscape condition
Pathogen indicators (E. coli, enterococci)
Nuisance plant growth
Chlorophyll
Trace metals
Pathogens
Nitrates
Salinity
Sediments/TDS
Mercury
Chlordane
DDT
PCBs T H
Ambient toxicity
Sediment toxicity
Other chemicals of concern in water or sediment
Health of organisms
Hazardous chemicals
Aesthetics
VOCs (in reservoirs)
Hydrophyllic pesticides
Algae

13. The How Protocols Field methods Laboratory methods vary Aspects
Chemistry
Biology
Habitat

14. The Where Site specific Area wide Upstream Downstream Paired watershed

15. Best Approaches
Apply multiple tools efficiently to support multiple objectives
Use statistically-valid surveys to assess status and trends in condition and stressors and to evaluate program effectiveness
Integrate models & landscape analysis to complement survey results and predict locations of vulnerable waters
Target site-specific monitoring to verify condition and develop management actions

17. Wadeable Streams Assessment
Generate report on the condition
of streams of the
U.S. by 3/06
Build State
capacity for
monitoring and
assessment
Enhance data
comparability
and integration
of State programs
The States Assess the Nation’s Streams

18. Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP)

19. Managing Data Determine data management at desk
Spreadsheets fine unless large volume of data
EPA’s STORET data storage and retrieval
Free oracle database and user support to share and archive data
New warehouse provides quick access to data of documented quality (
EPA’s Water Quality Exchange (WQX)
Redesigned STORET to facilitate easier upload and download of water quality data
GIS supports data analysis and interpretation
Record sampling locations (lat, long & stream name)
National Hydrography Dataset

20. Assessment Methodology
Available Data
Applicable Water Quality Criteria
Hierarchy of indicators and tools used
Document procedures
Address numeric criteria, narrative criteria and designated uses
Define data quality and documentation needs
Describe analytical approaches for interpreting data and information

21. Methodology Considerations
Magnitude and duration of exceedances
Age of data
Number of data points – more sites vs. more frequency
Data quality
Multiple data types
Define what is “healthy”

22. Communicating Results
Summarize the information
Provide an interpretation of the data and not numbers
Use oral presentations and written documents to communicate results
Provide to States, Tribes, other interested or affected parties
Use newspapers and other public media

23. Reporting 305(b) water quality inventory report
Extent of all state waters that meet the goals of the CWA, including WQS attainment
Causes and sources contributing to impairments
303(d) list of waters needing TMDL
Impaired & threatened waters
Impaired by pollutants
States required to submit every 2 years
Tribes are not required to submit either 303(d) or 305(b)
EPA approval/disapproval of 303(d) list

24. Questions?