National Aquatic Resource Surveys:
A Progress Report
Working with our partners in the states, tribes, and other federal agencies, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is conducting statistical surveys of the nation's waters.
Purpose
Report on the
condition of the
nation's waters.
•
Help build state
capacity for
monitoring and
assessment.
•
Promote
collaboration
across
jurisdictional
boundaries in the
assessment of
water quality.
Design of the Surveys
Statistically-representative surveys of the aquatic resources of the U.S. have begun
providing us with the information we need to identify national priorities and evaluate
the effectiveness of pollution control actions. These assessments report on core
indicators using standardized field and lab methods, and include a national quality
assurance program. The surveys are designed to yield unbiased estimates of the
condition of a whole resource, based on a representative sample of waters.
These surveys are designed to answer key questions asked by decision makers,
Congress, and the public, such as:
• What's the extent of waters that support healthy ecosystems, recreation, and fish
consumption?
• How widespread are the most significant water quality problems?
• Is water quality improving?
• Are we investing in restoration and protection wisely?
State Use and Adoption of Surveys
States are finding that statistical surveys are a cost-effective means of reporting and
communicating to their citizens on the condition of the their waters. Survey data can
supplement monitoring data collected using more traditional targeted approaches.
Thirty states currently conduct statewide surveys of at least one waterbody type. The
primary value of these surveys is to efficiently assess the status and trends of 100% of
the state's waters. States also use survey data to develop or evaluate water quality standards; evaluate and manage
lists of impaired waters; supplement data sets on high quality reference waters; and evaluate the relationships between
stressors, watershed characteristics, and the condition of waters to prioritize additional monitoring and management
needs.
EPA Use of Surveys
The results of the first national surveys — the National Coastal
Assessments and the Wadeable Streams Assessment - are
included in EPA's Report on the Environment, a key tool for
communicating to the public what we know about the
condition of our waters. EPA's strategic plan also uses survey
results as a key measure of the performance of our protection
and restoration programs.
The surveys and national assessment reports will continue to
provide nationally-consistent indicators of water quality we
can use to gauge the impact of our national investment in
protecting and restoring the nation's watersheds.
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Overall National
Coastal Condition
Survey Updates
Coastal Waters: The National Coastal Assessment was the first national survey using the EPA's
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) survey design. Working with states, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), EPA has produced three national
^ reports (one in draft) since 2001. These National Coastal
Condition Reports (NCCR) include statistical assessments of
100% of the nation's estuaries in the contiguous 48 states,
Puerto Rico, and Hawaii. Statistical surveys of Alaska's
coastline are being implemented as a series of smaller surveys
addressing a different coastal region each year. These reports
send a clear message about the challenges facing our coastal
resources.
The draft NCCRIII finds that the overall condition of the
nation's coastal waters is generally fair and has improved
slightly since the 1990s. This rating is based on five key
indicators of ecological condition: water quality, coastal habitat
loss, sediment quality, benthic community condition, and fish
tissue contaminants. For each of these indicators, a score of
good, fair, or poor was assigned to each coastal region. Ratings
were then averaged to create overall regional and national
scores (Fig. 1).
The draft NCCR III also finds that 57% of assessed resources
' Overall
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Figure 1: Conditions in the Coastal U.S. (NCCR III)
are in good condition for the water quality index, 6% are in poor
condition, and 35% are in fair condition. The indicators that
show poorest conditions are coastal habitat and benthic condition. The indicators that generally show the best
condition are the individual components of water quality - dissolved oxygen and dissolved inorganic nitrogen.
In 2010, EPA and its partners will undertake a new survey of coastal waters, and expect to report the survey results in
2012. EPA is sponsoring a national meeting in 2008 to begin planning the survey.
Streams: The Wadeable Streams
Assessment (WSA), released in 2006, used
standardized methods for sampling key
indicators in streams across the country. The
WSA used macroinvertebrate communities
to report on biological condition, and also
reported on key stressors such as habitat,
nutrients, salinity, and acidity.
The WSA found that, compared to best
available reference sites in their ecological
regions, 42% of stream miles are in poor
condition, 25% are in fair condition, and
28% are in good condition (Fig.2).
Confidence levels for these key findings are plus or minus 2.8%.
5.0%
National Biological Quality
| Poor
Not Assessed
Figure 2: Biological Quality of the Nation's Streams (WSA)
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Relative Extent
of Aquatic Stressors
Relative Risk
to Macroinvertebrate Integrity
Of the stressors the WSA analyzed, the most widespread across the country are nitrogen, phosphorus, excess
sedimentation, and riparian disturbance (i.e., evidence of human disturbance in or alongside streams.) This finding
reinforces reports from states and USGS that have identified nutrients and sediments as leading water quality stressors
in the small percentage of assessed waters of the U.S. The WSA allows us to say, for the first time, that 25 to 30% of
the nation's streams have high levels of these pollutants.
WSA analysis of the association between stressors and biological condition found that high levels of nitrogen,
phosphorus, and sediments more than double the risk for poor biological condition (Fig. 3). This underscores the
critical importance of
efforts to address
nutrients and
sediments. Such key
actions include
development of
appropriate nutrient
criteria and load
allowances, and
implementation of
effective management
actions such as low
impact development
and agricultural best
management practices.
Total Nitrogen
Total Phosphorus
Riparian Disturbance
Excess Sediments
Instream Habitat
Riparian Vegetation
Salinity
Acidification
0
10
20
30
40
50 1
% of Stream Length in
Most Disturbed Condition
2 3
Relative Risk Factor
Figure 3: Extent of Stressors and their Relative Impact on Biological Condition in Streams (WSA)
Rivers: EPA is
undertaking a survey of the nation's rivers, and will combine it with a second assessment of wadeable streams. In
January 2007, EPA and its partners held a national
meeting to discuss survey design, indicator
selection and interpretation, sampling methods
and opportunities to leverage the survey to
support state, tribal and other monitoring
programs and objectives. Workgroups consisting
of state and EPA representatives were formed to
discuss indicators and methods for the survey.
In 2008 and 2009, field crews will collect data on
indicators of ecological condition, such as
periphyton, phytoplankton, benthic
macroinvertebrates, and fish; recreational
indicators such as fecal contaminants and fish
tissue; indicators of physical habitat condition
such as bank stability, channel alterations, and
invasive species; and basic water chemistry. A
national report on rivers and streams is scheduled
for 2011.
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Lakes I The first assessment of the biological
condition of the nation's lakes is underway. Early in
2007, EPA held ten sessions around the country,
training over 80 field crews who then sampled over
1,000 lakes, ponds, and reservoirs in the course of the
summer (Fig. 4). Field crews collected data for
indicators of regional and national ecological integrity,
such as sediment diatoms, phytoplankton, zooplankton,
and shoreline physical habitat conditions; indicators of
trophic status, such as nutrients, chlorophyll a, and
transparency; and pathogens and algal toxins as
recreational indicators. Sample results are undergoing
quality review and being readied for analysis and
presentation. A report on the National Lakes
Assessment is planned for 2009.
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Figure 4: Sampling Locations for the National Lakes Assessment
The National Lake Fish Tissue Survey is currently
undergoing final review. This EPA study includes the
largest set of chemicals ever studied in fish, and is the first national fish contamination survey to use statistical
techniques to select sampling sites. It will provide the first national estimates of mean concentration of the 268 target
chemicals in fish, as well as a national baseline to track the progress of pollution-control activities that limit release of
these chemicals into the environment.
Wetlands: In 2011, EPA and the states will be conducting a
survey of the condition of the nation's wetlands; a report is planned
for 2013. EPA is collaborating with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS) to design the wetland assessment to ensure that it
effectively complements the FWS Status and Trends reports, which
focus on the distribution of wetlands rather than their condition.
EPA, working with states and tribes, is coordinating a number of
regional pilot projects to test design approaches, field protocols, and
indicators for use in the National Wetland Condition Assessment.
EPA anticipates that the lessons learned from these pilot projects will
inform final decision-making for the national effort.
In 2008, the project team will be making initial decisions on condition
indicators and assessment methods that can apply across a wide range
of wetland types. As a consequence of initial discussions about the
survey at a variety of conferences and workshops across the country,
EPA's national wetland monitoring and assessment workgroup has re-
engaged many states in wetland monitoring.
For more information on the National Aquatic Resource Surveys, visit
www.epa.gov/owow/monitoring/reporting.html
USEPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and
Watersheds (4503T) EPA 841-F-08-001,
September 2008
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