National  Rivers and  Streams  Assessment:
                 A  Fact  Sheet  for Communities
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), states, and tribes are
conducting a nationwide survey of the
condition of the nation's rivers and
streams. The survey will help citizens
and governments measure the health of
our waters, take actions to prevent
pollution, and evaluate the
effectiveness of protection and
restoration efforts.

Designed to estimate the percentage of
rivers and streams that are in good,
fair, or poor  condition, the survey will
serve as a scientific report card on
America's flowing waters. It will
examine ecological, water quality, and
recreational  indicators, and assess how
widespread key stressors (such as
nutrients, fish tissue  contaminants, and
bacteria) are across the country.

The survey is a collaborative effort
that involves dozens of state
environmental and natural resource
agencies, federal agencies, universities
and other organizations.  In many
states, state water quality staff will
conduct the water quality sampling and
habitat assessments.  In  others, field
work will be conducted by staff under
contract to EPA.

How were  the sites selected?

A total of 1,800 sample sites were
selected to represent the condition of
rivers and streams across the lower 48
states. Of these, half are large
streams and rivers, and half are
"wadeable" streams. Sites were
selected randomly using a statistical
survey design to represent the
population of rivers and streams in their
ecological region - the geographic  area
in which climate, ecological features,
and plant and animal communities are
similar.
Distribution of river and stream survey sites

What about my local river or stream?

If your local waterbody is being
sampled for this survey, it was selected
randomly from the population of rivers
and streams in your part of the country.
It was not selected because it exhibits
any particular problem or water quality
condition, or because it was
recommended for sampling by an agency
or organization. When the final report
on the National Rivers and Streams

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Assessment is written, data from your
local waterbody will contribute to the
regional and national picture of the
condition of the nation's flowing waters.

If your local river or stream is not
being sampled for this survey, it was
not omitted for any particular reason,
but rather because it was not randomly
selected or did not fit into the target
population of flowing waters.

Many volunteer water monitoring groups
have years of sampling data for rivers
and streams, data vital to local water
quality management activities. This
survey will  provide a regional and
national - and in some cases, statewide -
assessment. It will also allow those
with sampling data for their local
waters to compare the condition of
their river or stream to the range of
flowing waters in  their region or state.

What will researchers measure?

Field crews will be taking many
measurements at  each selected site.
They will be using consistent
procedures at all  sites so that results
can be compared across the country.
They will be measuring such things as:

   •   Temperature, dissolved oxygen,
       nutrients,  pH, and more;
   •   Condition of the habitat along
       the  river or stream banks;
   •   Algae and free floating plants;
   •   Benthic macroinvertebrates -
       small animals such as insects,
       snails, and crayfish that are a
       source of food for fish;
   •   Bacteria — indicators of fecal
       contamination from animals or
       humans; and
   •   Contaminants in fish tissue.

Data for individual waters will be made
available to the public via a national
database as part of the final national
report on the condition of our rivers
and streams.
What happens next?

Sampling will be conducted during the
summer of 2008 and 2009. EPA intends
to issue a report on the findings in 2011.
Between the time sites are sampled and
the national report is published, samples
will be analyzed in the lab, the data will
be entered into a database and
analyzed, and a draft report will be
written  and reviewed. The public will
have the opportunity to review and
comment on the draft report.

Where can  I find out more?

For more information visit:
www.epQ.gov/owow/riverssurvey/
or email us at:
riverssurvev@epa.gov.
                       U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                       1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (4503T)
                             Washington, DC 20460
                                 June 2008

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