### Design and methods of the Southeast Stream Quality Assessment (SESQA), 2014

By: Celeste A. Journey**Peter C. Van MetreAmanda H. Bell**Jessica D. Garrett**Daniel T. Button**Naomi Nakagaki**Sharon L. Qi**Paul M. Bradley**

                            https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151095

#### Links

-                                                                                                                             Document:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  **Report**                                                                                                     (3.8 MB pdf)                                                                                                                                     
- Appendixes:                               - **Appendix 1**                            (560 KB xlsx)                        
  - **Appendix 2**                            (89 KB xlsx)                        
  - **Appendix 3**                            (50 KB xlsx) 
- Download citation as:  RIS                         |                         Dublin                            Core

#### Abstract

First posted July 15, 2015

**For additional information, contact:**
Director, South Atlantic Water Science Center North Carolina–South Carolina–Georgia 720 Gracern Road, Suite 129 Columbia, SC 29210 http://www.usgs.gov/water/southatlantic/

 

During 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) assessed stream quality across the Piedmont and southern Appalachian Mountain regions of the southeastern United States. This Southeast Stream Quality Assessment (SESQA) simultaneously characterized watershed and stream-reach water-quality stressors along with instream biological conditions, in order to better understand regional stressor-effects relations. The goal of SESQA is to provide communities and policymakers with information about those human and environmental factors that have the greatest impact on stream quality across the region. The SESQA design focused on hydrologic alteration and urbanization because of their importance as ecological stressors of particular concern to Southeast region resource managers.

Streamflow and land-use data were used to identify and select sites representing gradients in urbanization and streamflow alteration across the region. One hundred fifteen sites were selected and sampled for as many as 10 weeks during April, May, and June 2014 for contaminants, nutrients, and sediment. This water-quality “index” period culminated with an ecological survey of habitat, periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish at all sites. Sediment was collected during the ecological survey for analysis of sediment chemistry and toxicity testing. Of the 115 sites, 59 were on streams in watersheds with varying degrees of urban land use, 5 were on streams with multiple confined animal feeding operations, and 13 were reference sites with little or no development in their watersheds. The remaining 38 “hydro” sites were on streams in watersheds with relatively little agricultural or urban development but with hydrologic alteration, such as a dam or reservoir.

This report provides a detailed description of the SESQA study components, including surveys of ecological conditions, routine water sampling, deployment of passive polar organic compound integrative samplers for pesticides and contaminants of emerging concern, and synoptic sediment sampling and toxicity testing at all urban, confined animal feeding operation, and reference sites. Continuous water-quality monitoring and daily pesticide sampling efforts conducted at a subset of urban sites are also described.

#### Suggested Citation

Journey, C.A., Van Metre, P.C., Bell, A.H., Garrett, J.D., Button, D.T., Nakagaki, N., Qi, S.L., and Bradley, P.M., 2015, Design and methods of the Southeast Stream Quality Assessment (SESQA), 2014: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2015–1095, 46 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151095.

ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)

#### Study Area

#### Table of Contents

- Abstract
- Introduction
- Study Design
- Data Collection and Processing
- Laboratory Analyses
- Quality Assurance and Quality Control
- Selected References

Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format                        (PDF). For best results viewing and printing PDF documents, it is recommended that you download                        the documents to your computer and open them with Adobe Reader. PDF documents opened from your                        browser may not display or print as intended. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge. More information                        about viewing, downloading, and printing report files can be found at the common download problems FAQ.

Part of this report is presented in Microsoft Excel format (XLSX); the                        latest version of Excel Viewer is required to view it. Download the latest version of Excel Viewer, free                        of charge.