USGS Approach to Water Indicators - ACWI · 2008 Heinz Center Report on the State of the Nation’s...
Transcript of USGS Approach to Water Indicators - ACWI · 2008 Heinz Center Report on the State of the Nation’s...
USGS Approach to Water IndicatorsDonna Myers
NWQMC Steering Committee Meeting December 9, 2008
Reston, VA
VISION
Try to use EPA and State Data to enhance breath and scope of
water indicators
Multiple Tools RequiredDesign/Tool Questions they can answer --Probabilisticsurvey
• What percentage of the Nation’s water resources meet the goals of the Clean Water Act?
• What percentage of the Nation’s water qualitygetting better or worse?
Modeling and landscape analysis
• Can we predict water quality conditions in space and time?
• Can we extrapolate from sampled to un-sampled locations?
Targeted monitoring
• What are the causative and associative human and natural factors that effect water quality?
• What is the water quality in a watershed or at a location and is it changing over time?
Changes with season, over time, and with streamflow
1992-2001
0
20
40
60
80
100
1992-1998, n=106 1992-2001, n=186
PERC
ENT
OF S
ITES
WIT
H IN
DICA
TED
NUMB
ER O
FCO
NTAM
INAN
TS D
ETEC
TED
IN E
ACH
SAMP
LE
1 or 23 or 45 or more
EXPLANATIONNumber of contaminantsdetected in each sample
Contaminant Occurrence in National Stream Water
1992-2001
020406080
100
1992-1998,n=106
1992-2001,n=186
PERC
ENT
OF S
ITES
EXCE
EDIN
G IN
DICA
TED
NUMB
EROF
BEN
CHMA
RKS
no benchmark exceeded12 or 34 or more
EXPLANATIONNumber of contaminantsexceeding benchmarks
1992-2001
0204060
80100
1992-1998, n=106 1992-2001, n=186
Human Health Aquatic Life
Contaminants in National Stream Water Exceeding Human-Health and Aquatic-Life Benchmarks
< 2 mg/L2 to < 6 mg/L6 to < 10 mg/L
10 mg/L or More
1992-2003
>_
Less than 2 mg/L 2 to 6 mg/L
6 to 10 mg/L 10 mg/L or more
1992 - 2003
Nitrate Concentration in Farmland, Forest, Urban, and Grassland Ground WaterPE
RCEN
T OF
GRO
UND
WAT
ER S
ITES
WIT
HIN
DICA
TED
NIT
RATE
CON
CENT
RATI
ON
EXPLANATIONNitrate concentration
0
20
40
60
80
100
Farmland Forest Urban Grassland
FarmlandEcosystem Comparison
Total Nitrogen(pounds of nitrogen per square mile per year)
Less than 1010 - 599600 - 1,4991,500 - 2,999More than 3,000
2001-20051996-2000
Five-Year Mean-Annual Incremental Yield of Total Nitrogen From Major Watersheds
Annual Nitrate Load Discharged to Coastal Waters
ANNU
AL N
ITRA
TE L
OAD,
IN T
HOUS
AND
LONG
TON
S PE
R YE
AR
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000YEAR
Mississippi RiverSusquehanna RiverSt. Lawrence RiverColumbia River
Detail
0
50
100
150
1970 1980 1990 2000
NAWQA site with nutrient-load estimate
Based on
NAWQA sites only
+ 55% + 30%
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Prediction Error
NAWQA: 44Other USGS: 174 Other agency: 586(matched to USGS gage)
Assessment of Total Nitrogen Concentration
Mean concentration, in 2002
> 0.7 mg/L61 %
< 0.7 mg/L39 %
Percent of 72,000 stream miles
Source Shares Delivered to Sensitive Coastal Areas
Atmospheric depositionAgricultural sourcesRunoff from developed landPoint-source discharge
Mobile BayCape Fear
EstuarySavannah
River Estuary
NAWQA Ecological Data
1800 National River and Stream Assessment Sites
2008 Heinz Center Report on the
State of the Nation’s Ecosystems
BiologicalCommunity
Integrity in Streams
VISION: Combine USGS and EPA data
Example:Example:
• Combined NAWQA & EPA datafacilitated regional assessmenttool that is broadly applicable (Carlisle & Hawkins, in press)
• NAWQA assessmentsin regional context
• Direct comparisons ofassessments among river basins
• Similar tools developed for Eastern U.S. (Meador et al.,
approved)