Water Quality Reports
What is the condition of our waters? EPA, states, tribes, territories, and interstate organizations regularly monitor and report on the physical, chemical, and biological condition of surface waters such as rivers, lakes, estuaries, and coastal waters. These reports may be national in scope and based on statistical survey techniques, or biennial water qualitiy assessment reports submitted by states, tribes and others and summarized by EPA for Congress.
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Probability Surveys of the Nation's Waters
National Aquatic Resource Surveys: A Progress Report January 2008 (fact sheet) (PDF). Summarizes the current status of statistical surveys of the Nation's waters being conducted by EPA and the states. (4 pp, 1.2MB, about PDF)
Wadeable Streams Assessment: A Collaborative Survey of the Nation's Streams (WSA). This is the first-ever, statistically-valid survey of the biological condition of the Nation's streams.
National Coastal Condition Report: Compiles available data sets from different agencies and areas of the country and summarizes them to present a broad baseline picture of the condition of U.S. coastal waters.
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National Lakes Assessment: This page describes plans to implement a probability-based survey of the nation's lakes.
Survey of the Nation’s Rivers and Streams: EPA and its state, tribal, federal and other partners are beginning work on a survey of the quality of the nation’s rivers. It is one of a series being implemented to periodically generate statistically-valid and environmentally relevant reports on the condition of the nation’s water resources.
National Wetland Condition Assessment: Provide technical information to states, tribes and federal governments working with EPA to produce a national servey of wetland condition in 2011.
Schedule for Statistically-Valid Surveys of the Nation's Waters (PDF) (1 pp, 14KB, about PDF)
National Water Quality Report to Congress (305(b) report): Series of biennial national reports summarizing water quality assessments by states, territories, tribes, and jurisdictions of the U.S. This is the primary vehicle for informing Congress and the public about water quality conditions.
Water Quality Report for Kids ("What's Up with our Nation's Waters?"): Booklet, designed primarily for middle-school-aged youth, presents key findings of the EPA's National Water Quality Report and includes projects for school or fun, a glossary and resources for more information.
Evaluation of State and Regional Water Quality Monitoring Councils, August 2003 (PDF) (24 pp, 285K, about PDF): EPA study of the effectiveness of state and regional water quality monitoring councils in coordinating monitoring activities on a statewide or regional scale.
Reporting Guidelines -- Various EPA guidance documents for assessing and reporting water quality.