# Presentation: 819422

## The National Monitoring Network: Monitoring & Management of Alabama Rivers 

**Fred Leslie**
**Alabama Dept of Environmental Management**
**National Monitoring Conference **
**May 10, 2006**

## Presentation Overview

- Alabama Water Resources and Biodiversity
- Alabama Water Quality Monitoring Programs
- What Can the National Monitoring Network Do For You?

## The River State 

**Tennessee**

**Black**
**Warrior**

**Upper **
**Tombigbee**

**Coosa**

**Lower**
**Tombigbee**

**Tallapoosa**

**Choctaw-**
**hatchee**

**Perdido-**
**Escambia**

**Mobile**

**Alabama**

**Cahaba**

**E**
**s**
**c**
**a**
**t**
**a**
**w**
**p**
**a**

**Chattahoochee**

**Chipola**

- 14 Basins
- 629 Subwatersheds
- 77,248 stream miles
- 490,472 acres in 43 reservoirs and lakes
- 3,600,000 acres of freshwater wetlands
- 390,398 acres of estuaries, tidal waterways, and bays

## In the center of the seal there shall be a representation of a map of the state with its principal rivers (1819). 

## Highest diversity of fish species in US........

***Rainbow Darter***

***Gulf Sturgeon***

***Banded Darter***

## Highest diversity of mollusk species in the world......

## Recreation............

- 11 million angler fishing days

- i

- Angler expenditures = $ 750,000,000

## ADEM Monitoring Programs

## ADEM Water Quality Monitoring

**Field Operations Division (*****Monitoring)***
**Montgomery Branch**
**Biological Assessments**
**Bioassays**
**Rivers & Streams Program**
**Rivers and Reservoirs Program**
**Fish Tissue Monitoring Program**
**Water Quality Monitoring Coordinator**
**Mobile Branch**
**Birmingham Branch**
**Decatur Branch **
**Water Division (*****Management*****)**
**Special Studies**
**Criteria/Standards**
**Assessment/Listing Methodology**
**Wasteloads/Modeling**
**TMDLs**
**Integrated Assessment Report (305b/303d)**

**Notes:**
Primarily when you speak of water quality monitoring in the ADEM, you are talking about activities centered within the Field Operations and Water Divisions. 
Generally speaking,  Field Operations is responsible for the monitoring programs and the collection of data, and Water Division is responsible for the water quality assessments using the data.  However, to the credit of the staff of both Divisions, we work together very closely in monitoring and assessment activities and depend on each other heavily for guidance and support.   

## ADEM

**Monitoring 1991-2004**
- Streams: Reference Sites
- Streams: ALAMAP
- Streams: Ambient Trends
- Streams: NPS Screen
- Streams: NPS Int
- Streams: 303d/TMDL
- Streams: Special Studies
- Reservoir WQ Program
- Fish Tissue Monitoring Program
- Coastal Monitoring Programs

*ADEM*
*1991-2004*

## ADEM Monitoring Programs ReviewJuly 2004

**Affirm needs of a successful monitoring program**
**Well-designed for current and future data needs**
**Long-term and consistent**
**Focus on key parameters**
**Data quality and quantity**
**Revise project-oriented nature of monitoring efforts**
**Consistency in techniques**
**Eliminate duplication of effort**
**Incorporate probabilistic surveys into basin rotation**
**Expand river monitoring network**
**Comprehensive, consistent assessments**
**Criteria development, etc.**

## Slide 12

## Alabama Monitoring Program Reorganization2005

## Basin Rotation Strategy

- Use of a Watershed Management Approach
- Monitoring conducted on a 5 year basin rotation
- Support water quality protection on a geographic basis
- Provide comprehensive assessment
- Identify areas in need of assessment

## ADEM

- Monitoring Programs
- Rivers and Streams Program
- Rivers and Reservoirs Program
- Fish Tissue Program
- Coastal Monitoring Programs

*ADEM*
*2005*

## Monitoring Reorganization2005

- Rivers and Streams Monitoring Program (RSMP)
- Wadeable waterbodies
- Require similar equipment and sampling protocols
- Incorporate probabilistic survey
- Rivers and Reservoirs Monitoring Program (RRMP)
- Nonwadeable waterbodies
- Require similar equipment and sampling protocols
- Increase focus on monitoring large rivers
- Fish Tissue Monitoring Program (FTMP)
- All waters, to include bays and estuaries

## Monitoring Plan 2005

- 500 Stations Statewide:
- 339 RSMP Stations
- 84 §303(d) Stations
- 97 Ambient Trend Stations
- 119 Basin Assessment Stations
- 23 Cahaba River Intensive Survey Stations
- 13 Elk River Intensive Survey Stations
- 5 Clean Water Partnership Assessments
- 35 Ecoregional Reference Reaches
- 111 RRMP Stations
- 51 FTMP Stations

## Monitoring Plan 2005

- Stations sampled for multiple projects:
- Ninety-one (91)
- Benefits
- Eliminated duplication of effort
- Consistency in techniques
- Increased Efficiency
- More data for the dollar
- Increased stations/coverage
- Increased sampling repetition
- Full assessment of water quality
- Expansion of river monitoring

## What Can The NMN Do For You?

## Rivers and Reservoirs Monitoring 

***Program***

## Rivers & Reservoirs:Physical/Chemical WQ Assessments

***Rivers & Reservoirs:******Physical/Chemical WQ Assessments***

## Rivers & Reservoirs:Biological WQ Assessments

***Rivers & Reservoirs:******Biological WQ Assessments***

## Fish Tissue Monitoring 

***Fish Tissue Monitoring ***
***Program***

## What Can the NMN Do For You?

- Design for Rivers
- Flow and loads from inland HUC-6 watersheds
- Flow and loads to estuarie**s**
- Monthly plus high flows (about 15 times per year)
- Once per year for biological characterization and sediment quality

## NMN River Stations: Alabama

## NMN River Stations: Alabama Chlorophyll a

## NMN River Stations: Alabama Phosphorus

## NMN River Stations: Alabama Nitrogen

## NMN River Stations: Alabama Dissolved Oxygen

## NMN River Stations: Alabama DDT in Fish

## NMN River Stations: Alabama Mercury in Fish

## NMN River Stations: Alabama PCBs in Fish

## What Can the NMN Do For You?

- Sentinel Network
- Effectively target resources as trends change
- Detection of contaminants
- Expand River Monitoring Network
- Allocation of resources
- More stations
- More parameters
- River bioassessments
- Sediment Analyses
- Emerging Contaminants

## Management Applications.......