# Presentation: 823851

## National Water Quality Monitoring Network for U.S. Coastal Waters and Their Tributaries

**Briefing For The**
**Advisory Committee on Water Information**
**September 14, 2005**

## An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century
Final Report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy

**Final Report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy**

**The US Ocean Action Plan**
- 		The Administration’s Response

**Both called for the creation of a **
**National Water Quality Monitoring Network**

- Origins of the Project

## National Water Quality Monitoring Network

**Develop network that coordinates and expands **
**      ****existing efforts**
**The network should include coverage in both the coastal and upland areas that affect them, and be linked to the Integrated Ocean Observing System**
**Network must have clear goals, specify core variables, and an appropriate sampling framework, and be periodically reviewed and updated.**

**Notes:**
From the Ocean Commission Report, Chapter 15
Use case studies:
	Chesapeake Bay
	Gulf of Maine
 	Pacific Northwest
 	Gulf of Mexico / Mississippi River  Basin

Report title:  National Water Quality Monitoring Network  for U.S. Coastal Waters and Their Tributaries

## 7%

- Federal

- Industry

- Academia

- State &
- Tribal

- Local

**40%**

**28%**

**23%**

**7%**

**2%**

## Design the network using criteria derived from:
Specified goals and objectives
Management questions 
Compare design with existing monitoring efforts
Then:
Include
Improve
Define as external to the Network

**Specified goals and objectives**
**Management questions **
**Compare design with existing monitoring efforts**
**Then:**
**Include**
**Improve**
**Define as external to the Network**

- Approach to the Design

**Notes:**
Note the organization we have to address this
Steering Committee	Design workgroup		Inventory Workgroup	Data Management & Access Workgroup
Data Comparability Workgroup

So... we intend a Network of Networks

## Integrate, coordinate, and as necessary enhance water quality monitoring efforts needed to make informed management decisions for sustainable use of aquatic resources. 

Communicate the availability of quality assured data, and disseminate information products relevant to national, regional and local needs.

**Communicate the availability of quality assured data, and disseminate information products relevant to national, regional and local needs.**

- Goals of the National Water Quality Monitoring Network

**Notes:**
SO, we intend a Network of Networks

## 

Define status and trends of key water quality parameters and conditions on a nationwide basis.

Provide data relevant to determining whether goals, standards, and resource management objectives are being met, thus contributing to sustainable and beneficial use of coastal and inland water resources.	
Provide data to identify and rank existing and emerging problems to help target more intensive monitoring, preventive actions, or remediation.

**Define status and trends of key water quality parameters and conditions on a nationwide basis.**
**Provide data relevant to determining whether goals, standards, and resource management objectives are being met, thus contributing to sustainable and beneficial use of coastal and inland water resources.****	**
**Provide data to identify and rank existing and emerging problems to help target more intensive monitoring, preventive actions, or remediation.**

- Objectives of the National Water Quality Monitoring Network

**Notes:**
Nationwide basis = U.S. Coastal Waters and Their Tributaries

## 
4.  Provide data to support and define coastal oceanographic and hydrologic research, including influences of freshwater inflows.

5. Provide quality-assured data for use in the preparation of interpretive reports and educational materials.

**4.  Provide data to support and define coastal oceanographic and hydrologic research, including influences of freshwater inflows.**
**5. Provide quality-assured data for use in the preparation of interpretive reports and educational materials.**

- Objectives of the National Water Quality Monitoring Network

**Notes:**
Interpretative reports need to include carefully timed reports thru coordinated cycles 

##  IOOS Regions

** ****IOOS Regions**

**Notes:**
IOOS Regions = New concept
			Roughly the same a s EMAP “provinces”

## What the Network Will Provide

**A framework **
- That links the upland to the coasts and ocean
- Provides national coverage
- That can support local needs:
- Finer temporal or geographic scale
- Additional indicators
- That has data standards
- That has provisions for data management and access

## What the Network Will NOT Cover

- Provide data on all water resources
- Small rivers
- Lakes and reservoirs
- Local aquifers
- Replace State Clean Water Act use attainment monitoring
- 305b and 303d
- Compliance monitoring

**Notes:**
The Network will be coordinated with emerging probability-based state sampling 
	Lakes, rivers and eventually wetlands

## The Design

**Resource compartments**
**Specific stressors**
**Purpose**
**Flow and Loads**
**Condition assessments**
**Approach**
**Station locations **
**Constituents **
**Frequency**
**Data Considerations**
**Metadata requirements**
**Data management **
**Data access**
**Implementation**
**Institutional considerations**

## Water Resource Compartments

**For each IOOS Region:**
**Major Rivers**
**Estuaries**
**State & Territorial Waters**
**Coastal Oceans to the Edge of the EEZ**
**Wetlands**
**Ground water**
**Recreational beaches**
**Atmospheric deposition**

## Oxygen depletion
Nutrient enrichment
Toxic contamination
Sedimentation
Harmful algal blooms
Habitat degradation
Invasions by exotic species
Pathogens (indicator bacteria)

**Nutrient enrichment**
**Toxic contamination**
**Sedimentation**
**Harmful algal blooms**
**Habitat degradation**
**Invasions by exotic species**
**Pathogens (indicator bacteria)**

- Stressors Affecting Resources

**Notes:**
From the Ocean Commission reports
Note no consensus on Exotics
Uses of Primary Concern

1.Aquatic life in each of the components we identified
2. Human use of water

## General Approach

**Conduct routine sampling on a network of fixed sites**
**Perform probabilistic sampling on the Nation’s largest rivers and coastal waters**
**Ensure that 90% of flow to each IOOS Region is sampled**
**Utilize existing networks and methods**
**Conduct regular assessments of data**
**Adaptive parametric coverage and sampling schedules**

**Notes:**
Coverage will be provided to NOAA-defined estuaries – exact decision rule has not yet been defined

3rd bullet is important.  Because network is coastal-centric and is supposed to link with IOOS, we decided to make sure that drainage to each IOOS region is adequately sampled.  This means that Southern California will have more sampling stations than if the design standard was to sample the majority of the flow from the nation.  We also wanted to be sure riverine inflows to important estuaries are sampled.  More on the specifics of these design concepts to follow.

## River Monitoring Sites

***Explanation***
-     **Active streamgage**
**     ****Active**** ****water-quality**** ****site**

**River Monitoring Sites**

**Notes:**
Map shows hydrologic accounting units and the downstream-most active water-quality sampling site, and downstream-most streamgage in each accounting unit

Good overlap of streamgages and sampling sites.

Further analysis is underway to identify which accounting units may need (1) new streamgages and/or (2) new sampling sites to  meet design goal of sampling 100% of flow from each HUC, and 90% of flow to each IOOS region.

## Adequacy of existing streamgage 

***Adequacy of existing streamgage ***
***network for meeting Network design***
***goal in Chesapeake Bay watershed.***

**Notes:**
Note that in the Eastern Shore and James River Accounting units (which includes the Elizabeth River) , no single river drains the unit, so  it is difficult to meet design goal with just one gage. 

## River Data Collection

**Continuous streamflow**
**Water-quality samples**
**12 – 15 per year**
**Nutrients, suspended sediment, metals, pesticides, and other site-specific constituents**
**Sample over full of range of flows**
**Biology once per year (index period)**
**Bottom sediments every 5 years**
**Utilize tissue contaminant information from BEST network**

## Representative Station Network

**Determine *****conditions***** on major rivers of the Nation**
**Sample goal: 90% of the flow to each IOOS Region **
**50 representative sites per IOOS Region**
**Five year interval**
**Same analyses as for each targeted site**
**Build on existing programs (BEST, EPA Great Rivers, ORSANCO, etc.)**

**Notes:**
Representative sites = randomly selected, statistically valid

## Stream segments for which mean flow is greater than 

**5,000 cfs or drainage area is greater than 25,000 sq mi. **

**Notes:**
This is an alternative to the previous map . . . Defining big rivers slightly differently.  Note, however, that there are no rivers flowing to Great Lakes using this criteria.  Note also that there for both sets of criteria (this slide and previous) there are no “big rivers” draining to Southern California IOOS Region.

## General Approach to Sampling Estuaries

- Define extent of the estuarine resource
- Link to riverine sampling
- Work within IOOS regions, state boundaries
- Cover 138 NOAA Listed estuaries
- Choose and distribute probability – based sampling sites
- Establish the monitoring schedule and arrange for it – through existing programs

## Sampling Estuaries

- Estuary Monitoring Sites

- Louisiana
- Example

## General Approach for Sampling State Waters and the EEZ

- Define extent of these waters using NOAA definitions
- Link to IOOS regions
- Choose and distribute sampling sites
- For many physical parameters, use remotely sensed data in combination with fixed sites
- Establish the monitoring schedule and arrange for it

**Notes:**
 Technically state waters go only to 3 miles.  Territorial waters go to 12 miles.

## Monitoring the Coastal Ocean

- Sites randomly placed inside the contiguous zone

- EEZ Waters to be sampled remotely

- Contiguous Zone and EEZ Waters In IOOS Regions

## Inventory of Existing Monitoring

- Identify existing Federal programs
- Identify state and local programs in case study areas
- Determine whether data in these programs meet objective criteria
- Those that do meet criteria are candidates for inclusion in NMN
- Track reasons for exclusion—high priority for action

## Primary Criteria Used to Screen Existing Networks

- On-going programs
- Data available electronically
- Database searchable using location and constituents as search criteria
- QA/QC
- Metadata available electronically and of sufficient quality

## Data Issues

- Metadata documentation is expected using long-standing Council/ACWI data element format
- Results and metadata storage to be electronic
- Access to be assured via web service portals via XML

## The Design is set – 
Detailing the contents
Geography
Parameter lists
Metadata needs established
Data Management & Access
Web Services
Network of Networks
DMAC Compatible
The Issue of Institutional Arrangements being framed 

**Detailing the contents**
**Geography**
**Parameter lists**
**Metadata needs established**
**Data Management & Access**
**Web Services**
**Network of Networks**
**DMAC Compatible**
**The Issue of Institutional Arrangements being framed**** **

- Progress To Date

##   We are addressing:
Common definitions of environmental compartments
Common information goals
The use of different design approaches
Common parameter specifications
Sample timing

We are starting to address:
Metadata standards
Field data Collection & handling
Analytic procedures
Data storage, and data access practices

**Common definitions of environmental compartments**
**Common information goals**
**The use of different design approaches**
**Common parameter specifications**
**Sample timing**
**We are starting to address:**
**Metadata standards**
**Field data Collection & handling**
**Analytic procedures**
**Data storage, and data access practices**

- Progress To Date

## Council Meeting:		Nov 1-3, 2005
 Draft Report by the Holidays
 Final report:			Mid-Jan 2006
 Nat’l. Monitoring Conf.	May 7-11, 2006

** ****Draft Report by the Holidays**
** ****Final report:****	****	****	****Mid-Jan 2006**
** ****Nat’l. Monitoring Conf.****	****May 7-11, 2006**

- Network Milestones

**Charles Spooner**
**US Environmental Protection Agency**
**Office of Water 4503T**
**1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.**
**Washington, DC 20460**
**Spooner.charles@eap.gov**
**202-566-1174**

**Dr. Gail Mallard**
**US Geological Survey**
**417 National Center **
**12201 Sunrise Valley Drive**
**Reston VA   20192**
**gmallard@usgs.gov**
**401-322-0902**