Georgia’s Stream-Water-Quality Monitoring Network, 2006

Surface water provides 5 billion gallons 

per day, or 78 percent, of the total freshwater used (including thermoelectric) in 

Georgia (Fanning, 2003). Climate, geology, and landforms control the distribution of Georgia’s water resources. Major 

watersheds are shown on the map at right.

Stream-water-quality data are essential 

for water-resource assessment and management. Each year, water-quality data 

collected by the U.S. Geological Survey 

(USGS)—in cooperation with local, 

State, and other Federal agencies—provide information to water managers to 

determine whether streams in Georgia 

meet standards for the designated uses 

of these waters. The network of waterquality monitoring stations provides the 

necessary information to:

Assess the quality of surface waters 

used for drinking water

Determine wasteload allocations for 

business, industry, and municipal 

sewer systems

Meet the monitoring requirements 

of the Federal Clean Water Act and 

other regulations administered by 

Georgia Environmental Protection 

Division (GaEPD) 

Compute Total Maximum Daily 

Loads—a determination of how 

much of a constituent can be carried 

by a stream before the water quality 

is severely impacted

Develop stormwater management plans

Control runoff of chemicals, 

trace metals, and microbial contaminants that may harm humans 

and aquatic life

Control urban runoff to mitigate 

flooding hazards, stream erosion, 

and destruction of stream habitat 

and aquatic communities

Limit nutrient loads to avoid 

eutrophication of sensitive water 

bodies such as reservoirs and 

coastal estuaries

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FLINT

COOSA

OCONEE

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SATILLA

SUWANNEE

ALTAMAHA

TENNESSEE

(TN)

CHATTAHOOCHEE

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 TALLAPOOSA

ST MARYS

TN TN

EXPLANATION

Water-quality monitoring station

ContinuousPeriodicBoth

FREQUENCY

OF SAMPLING

COOPERATIVE

PARTNER

Federal

State

Local

Various

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USGS stream-water-quality monitoring network for 

Georgia and major watersheds. The network represents 

an aggregation of smaller networks and individual monitoring 

stations that collectively provide data from 130 sites. 

Stream-Water-Quality 

Monitoring Network

The USGS stream-water-quality monitoring network for Georgia is an aggregation of smaller networks and individual 

monitoring stations that have been 

established in cooperation with Federal, 

State, and local agencies. These networks 

collectively provide data from 130 sites, 

62 of which are monitored continuously 

in real time using specialized equipment 

that transmits these data via satellite to a 

centralized location for processing 

and storage. These data are made available on the Web in near real time at 

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ga/nwis/

Ninety-eight stations are sampled 

period­ically for a more extensive suite 

of chem­ical and biological constituents 

that require laboratory analysis. Both the 

continuous and the periodic water-quality

data are archived and maintained in the 

USGS National Water Information System 

and are available to cooperators, waterresource managers, and the public.

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2006–3086

May 2006
Sixty-two of the 130 sites monitored for water 

quality in Georgia are equipped with streamflow

and water-quality instruments that collect and

transmit data via a satellite linkup. These data

are updated several times each day and displayed

on a USGS Web site at http://ga.water.usgs.gov/

Photograph by Andrew C. Hickey, USGS.

Stream-Water Quality

Impairments to stream-water quality can 

occur from point and nonpoint sources 

of pollutants. Point sources of pollutants, such as permitted municipal sewer 

outfalls or permitted industrial outfalls, 

can be readily assessed and their impacts 

to water quality can be managed because 

their sources and quantities are known. 

The origin and quantity of nonpoint sources 

of stream pollutants are much more difficult 

to characterize. Human-made changes to 

land use and land cover due to urbanization 

affect the quality and quantity of water by 

increasing the area of impervious surfaces 

(roads, parking lots, rooftops) covering the 

land within a watershed. These impervious 

areas contribute to increases in the velocity and volume of surface-water runoff,

which carry constituents that impact water 

quality. In agricultural areas, runoff from 

land used for animal-raising operations 

contributes to increases in the bacteriological contaminant concentrations in streams. 

Just as stream-water quality is affected by 

watershed land use, aquatic organisms also 

are affected (Landers and others, 2002). 

Stream communities are composed of a 

diverse group of organisms that spend all 

or parts of their life cycles in aquatic environments; these include fish, insects, crayfish, snails, mussels, and aquatic worms. 

The aquatic “health” of a stream may be 

assessed by the number and diversity of 

aquatic species contained in the stream.

Outlook

The USGS stream-water-quality monitoring network for Georgia is operated by 

the USGS and is funded largely through 

the Cooperative Water Program—a joint 

funding partnership between the USGS 

and State or local agencies (see Clarke, 

2006). Funding for this program is renewable on an annual basis and is subject to 

changes in Federal, State, and local 

governmental budget appropriations. 

Por­tions of the USGS stream-waterquality monitoring network have undergone significant reductions during recent 

years primarily due to decreases in 

State funding. The number of ambient 

water-quality monitoring stations in this 

network has decreased steadily, from a 

high of 211 during 1999, to only 49 

during 2006.

Stable funding sources are essential to 

ensure the continuity of data collection. 

As Georgia’s population increases, the 

demand for water will increase. The network to monitor water quality will need to 

expand to provide the information necessary to manage properly water resources. 

USGS scientists collecting 

biological samples in the 

Metropolitan Atlanta area. 

The aquatic “health” of a 

stream may be assessed by 

the number and diversity of 

aquatic species contained in 

the stream. Photograph by 

W. Brian Hughes, USGS.

References Cited

Clarke, J.S., 2006, Helping solve Georgia’s 

water problems—The USGS Cooperative 

Water Program: U.S. Geological Survey 

Fact Sheet 2006-3032, 4 p., Web-only 

publication at http://pubs.usgs.gov/

fs/2006/3032/pdf/fs2006-3032.pdf

Fanning, J.L., 2003, Water use in Georgia 

by county for 2000 and water-use trends 

for 1980–2000: Georgia Geologic Survey 

Information Circular 106, 176 p.

Landers, M.N., Ankcorn, P.D., McFadden, K.W., 

and Gregory, M.B., 2002, Does land use 

affect our streams? A watershed example 

from Gwinnett County, Georgia, 1998–2001: 

U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources 

Investigations Report 02-4281, 6 p.

USGS scientist processing stream-water 

samples for analysis of water chemistry. 

Data are stored in the USGS National Water 

Information System database and are 

accessible on the Web at http://ga.

water.usgs.gov/waterquality.html

Photograph by M. Brian Gregory, USGS.

For more information on the USGS streamwater-quality monitoring network for Georgia

Visit the USGS Georgia Water Science Center 

Web site at http://ga.water.usgs.gov/

or contact the USGS at

3039 Amwiler Road 

Peachtree Business Center, Suite 130

Atlanta, Georgia 30360-2824 

phone: 770-903-9100

Edited by Patricia L. Nobles

Layout and design by Caryl J. Wipperfurth

U.S. Geological Survey Georgia Water Science Center