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Uses of Data
Biocriteria Links
NPDES Permits
Biological assessment data can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of NPDES permit requirements and to detect previously unmeasured point and non-point source water quality problems.
Some states have already demonstrated the usefulness of biological data under certain circumstances to indicate the need for additional or more stringent permit limits (e.g., sole-source discharge into a stream where there is no significant nonpoint discharge, habitat degradation, or atmospheric deposition) (U.S. EPA 1994b) or to relieve discharges from any further controls.
Biological data can also be useful in monitoring highly variable or diffuse sources of pollution that are treated as point sources such as wet-weather discharges and stormwater runoff (U.S. EPA 1994b). Traditional chemical water quality monitoring is usually only minimally informative for these types of point source pollution - a biological survey of their impact might be critical to effectively evaluate these discharges and associated treatment measures.
Case Study