EPA NEW ENGLAND
REGIONAL LABORATORY
ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCE FACT SHEET
Grid Overlay for
Selecting Streams
ARTNERS
1 EPA New England Regional
Laboratory (NERL)
1 New England Interstate Water
Pollution Control Commission
(NEIWPCC)
• EPA ORD's Atlantic Ecology
Division (AED) in
Narragansett, Rl
• New England States
CONTACTS
EPA New England Regional
Laboratory
11 Technology Dr.
North Chelmsford, MA
01863
1 (888) 372-7341 (in NE
1 (617) 918-8300
www.epa.gov/ne/lab
NEW ENGLAND WADEABLE
STREAMS PROJECT
I NTRODUCTION
The New England Wadeable Streams Project (NEWS) provides assessments of the eco-
logical conditions of streams across the New England region using random probability
based sampling methods. This sampling methodology provides uniform spatial coverage
across specific geographic areas, such as watersheds, basins, states or regions. This is
accomplished by overlaying the sampling area with a hexagonal grid and then randomly
selecting stream segments to be sampled within each hexagon using Arclnfo and Geo-
graphic Information System (GIS) technology.
ASSESSING ECOLOGICAL HEALTH
Streamlining between states' water body assessments and their subsequent interpreta-
tions is a broader goal of the Wadeable Streams project. By developing and refining
approaches where uniform interpretations of ecological aquatic health can be made,
notwithstanding state boundaries and methods used, regional water body assessments can be simi-
larly made and interpreted. This improves methods, providing a way for reaching the goal of moving
towards normalizing water quality assessments nationally, and approaches the goal of fulfilling the
original intent of the national water quality inventory.
PARTNERS
This project is a collaborative effort between the EPA New England Regional Laboratory (NERL), the
New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC), EPA Office of Research
& Development's Atlantic Ecology Division (AED) in Narragansett, Rl, and the New England states.
NEIWPCC was awarded a cooperative agreement to support this project. Substantial assistance has
been provided by AED in the form of developing a design for probability sampling, GIS and statisti-
cal support, and developing future reports. The NERL is leading field efforts, sample protocol devel-
opment, interstate and state based coordination, technical support and technology transfer and
training.
THE NEED FOR DATA
One of the key elements of the project's design is making sure that the right type, quality, and
quantity of data are collected, providing useful information for assessments. State and federal regu-
latory agencies are the primary users of the data. As a result, the structure and design of this
program are developed to answer frequently asked questions about their specific water quality
continued D
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency New England
901-F-03-004A
July 2003
www.epa.gov/ne/lab
© printed on 100% recycled paper, with a minimum of 50% post consumer waste, using vegetable based inks
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programs. The types of data collected are based on information needed to address current front
line environmental issues and meet long term programmatic needs—for example, reporting water
quality. The sampling design and assessment methodologies are targeted to answer the following
questions about wadeable streams in the region:
• What proportion of wadeable stream miles statewide or regionally are demonstrating im-
paired physical habitat/biological/chemical conditions?
• What kinds of stream systems demonstrate the lowest biological diversity?
• What types of areas demonstrate the highest ecological quality?
• What is the relationship between land use and biological condition in the region/states?
• What proportion of stream miles contain X% of native fish species?
* What proportion of stream miles support X% of expected species richness and or macro-
invertebrate species richness?
TIMELINE
This project entails designing and implementing biological and chemical monitoring and is taking
place over a three year period. Already into the third year, a data report has been completed on
42 stream locations sampled across the New England states in 2001. Years two and three involve
the active participation of state agencies. To date, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecti-
cut have been participating as part of the region wide effort. In addition, each of these states has
decided to conduct probability-based surveys on an individual statewide scale to augment their
existing water quality and biological monitoring programs. Year two monitoring consisted of an-
other 23 randomly selected stations using the same hexagonal grid system. Each year duplicate
samples are collected at 10% of these stations for quality assurance purposes. Year three will be
dedicated to completing sampling of state level sites, data analysis and writing a final project report.
An estimated 70 stations will be monitored regionally during the three year sam-
pling period and a minimum of 50 sites per each individual statewide effort.
SAMPLING
All sampling locations are sampled for invertebrates, fish, and water chemistry with
accompanying assessments of in-stream and riparian habitats. Each monitoring
station includes fish and macroinvertebrate population assessments, physical habi-
tat assessments, water chemistry analyses, and characterization of surrounding land
uses using GIS technology. Fish sampling is conducted using backpack electro-
fishing gear. Water chemistry analyses include pH, temperature, DO, TSS, turbid-
ity, nutrients, alkalinity, hardness, TOC, DOC, color, total phosphorus, total mer-
cury, lead, and cadmium. Additionally, pharmaceuticals and personal care prod-
ucts (PPCPs) were monitored at about 40 selected sites during year two, and more
may be collected during year three. PPCPs are a class of pollutants discharged from
sewage treatment plants and other domestic waste streams, and have recently been
identified as a potential problem for aquatic organisms.
SUMMARY
The NEWS Project provides an unbiased approach from which state water quality
programs can assess the biological integrity and health of all waters of their state,
meet the mandates of the Clean Water Act, and augment their traditional targeted
monitoring approaches with a sampling design that has proved both cost effective
and scientifically sound. The NEWS Project offers opportunities for unique col-
laborative efforts among state and federal agencies while advancing biological monitoring methods
and data interpretation. The end results enhance the state of the science, promote more unified
collaborative efforts, and implement comprehensive evaluations of streams across New England.
The NEWS Project
provides an unbiased
approach from which
state water quality
programs can assess
the biological integrity
and health of all
waters of their state.
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