The National Water Quality Monitoring Network for U.S. Coastal Waters and their Tributaries Presentation for _______ August 28, 2007

Background Network Design Pilot Phase – Network Refinement – Inventory and Gap Analysis Presentation Outline

22,000 water bodies are not attaining water quality standards Widespread nutrient over-enrichment – Oxygen depletion – Loss of sea grass beds – Harmful algal blooms Toxic contamination and pathogens – Closed beaches and shellfish beds – Fish and shellfish consumption advisories Habitat alterations – Wetland loss – Invasive species Why do we need the Network

U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy – Chapter 15, Creating a National Monitoring Network U.S. Ocean Action Plan – Advancing our Understanding of the Oceans, Coasts, and Great Lakes – Create a National Water Quality Monitoring Network Network Origins

Charge from Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) formally accepted in February, 2005 ACWI delegated responsibility to National Water Quality Monitoring Council (NWQMC) Report accepted by ACWI and presented to CEQ and NSTC in April, 2006 CEQ and ACWI authorize Pilot Phase in January 2007 Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI) Charged with Network Design

Participant Affiliation Federal Academia State & Tribal 40% 28% 23% 7% Industry 2% Local 80 Participants in the Design Effort

Council on Environmental Quality National Science and Technology Council: – SWAQ Ocean Action Plan Oversight Groups: – Joint Subcommittee on Science and Technology (JSOST) – Subcommittee on Integrated Management of Ocean Resources (SIMOR) – Interagency Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Resource Management Ocean Research and Resources Advisory Panel Internal USGS, EPA, and NOAA groups Network Presentations

National Water Quality Monitoring Conference – May, 2006 – Approximately 900 attendees from Federal, Tribal, and State agencies, academia, private sector, volunteer monitoring community – Plenary presentation – 4 special sessions with open dialogue Network Presentations

Phase I - Network Design (FY 05 & 06) Phase II - Develop and carry out Pilot Studies (FY 07 & 08) Phase III - Demonstration Projects (FY 08& 09) Phase IV – Implementation; fill gaps and provide necessary enhancements to existing monitoring programs (FY 10 and beyond) Multi-year Effort

Links inland, coastal, and ocean monitoring Comparable and quality-controlled data across regions and resource compartments Resolution at several scales Includes targeted and probability based monitoring Relevant to management issues (National and Regional) Builds on existing programs Includes data management and access Design Features

What is the condition of the Nation’s waters? Where, how, and why are water quality conditions changing over time? Are strategies to protect water quality working? Are we meeting water quality goals and standards? Network will Address Management Questions

Estuaries Near-shore waters Off-shore waters Great Lakes Coastal beaches Wetlands Flow and flux from – Streams – Ground water – Atmospheric deposition Resource Compartments

Constituent Categories 1. Physical: Flow magnitude and direction, physical habitat, sediments 2. Chemical: Inorganic: Water-quality characteristics, major ions, nutrients, metals and metalloids Organic: Bulk organics, volatile organic compounds, pesticides, halogenated hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, contaminants with new and emerging concerns 3. Biological: Diversity, toxicity

In-depth assessment of the water quality and health of the Nation’s coastal waters – Identify pollution loading patterns – Describe status – Detect change Data sharing and comparability among agencies Data made accessible – Quality assurance and quality control plans Support water resources protection and restoration decisions Minimize duplicative or ineffective monitoring; improve coordination What are the Benefits?

Sites in Network estuaries 18 of 149 Network estuaries illustrated 50 sites per IOOS Region; probability-based selection 50 sites per estuary; probability-based selection About 15 sites selected to monitor flow and transport with at least 2 continuous sites to monitor short-term variability in each estuary Monitoring Estuaries

Monitoring Near Shore This slide shows 14 of the 50 sites needed to cover each IOOS Region

Great Lakes Nearshore and Offshore Sites

Proposed Riverine Stations

Proposed Riverine Stations – Great Lakes

Proposed Riverine Stations Alaska

Focus on direct discharge to coastal waters Local expertise used to determine significance of this source Where significant, determine flow and loads Ground Water

Design places major emphasis on storage and access – Built on ACWI’s Water Quality Data Elements for content, metadata – Assumes web services will be the data exchange mechanism Network Data Management

Provide data on all water resources – Small rivers – Local aquifers – Lakes and Reservoirs Replace State Clean Water Act Requirements – 305 (b) – 303 (d) Replace Compliance Monitoring The Network Will Not

ORPP Near-term Priority: Forecasting the response of coastal ecosystems to persistent forcing and extreme events Network will provide: – Consistent, multidisciplinary and multi-media data – Observations of physical, chemical, and biological characteristics and processes – Data on flux of material from watersheds and airsheds – Links between environmental observations and public-health issues such as beach closures and fish and shellfish advisories Relevance to Ocean Research Priorities Plan

Integrates watershed, marine, and estuarine elements Provides information on land-based sources of contamination Ensures comparable scales of data Supports effective data management and dissemination Supports development of Regional Coastal Ocean Observing Systems Relevance to IOOS

Outreach Agency staff to coordinate implementation – OSTP, NOAA, EPA, USGS Network refinement workgroups – Further develop selected details of the Design – Nutrients, Contaminants, Wetlands, Beaches, Groundwater, Atmospheric Deposition, Biology, Data Management Efforts Underway in 2007

Delaware Bay, San Francisco Bay, Lake Michigan No new Federal funds provided to pilots Conduct inventory of on-going monitoring Gap Analysis: compare inventory to design Identify management issues in pilot areas: – Habitat degradation, fresh-water flows, nutrient enrichment, contaminants, ground-water contribution, beach quality, effects of stressors on biology Estimate cost of current and needed monitoring Efforts Underway in 2007 Pilot Studies

Results from Pilot Studies Presentations at conferences organized by professional organizations Reports for CEQ Journals and other technical publications National Water Quality Monitoring Conference – May 19-22, 2008 – Atlantic City, New Jersey

Interagency Coordination and Responsibilities All work coordinated by Interagency Working Group consisting of NOAA, USGS, and EPA with participation by OSTP Federal, state, and local agencies and non-governmental partners (approximately 60 organizations) are contributing to the Pilot Phase Lead Federal agency or agencies: – NOAA: near-shore and off-shore marine waters; estuaries and Great Lakes (joint with EPA) – EPA: wetlands and beaches; estuaries and Great Lakes (joint with NOAA) – USGS: streams and ground water – National Atmospheric Deposition Program-National Trends Network partners: atmospheric deposition Data Management (EPA, NOAA, USGS, States, other non-Fed)

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