Water Quality Program
Aquatic ecosystems such as streams, springs, and lakes are highly sensitive to changes in water quality.
Program staff compile and analyze information on the quality of water in national parks by designing long-term monitoring programs and coordinating studies requiring specialized technical or regulatory skills, while providing national consistency in the acquisition and management of this water quality data. The Program promotes the use of regulatory initiatives to establish protective designations for NPS surface- and ground-water resources and transfers current information on aquatic contaminants and aquatic toxicity issues to parks and the public.
The Water Quality Program is one of three programs administered
by the Water Operations Branch (WOB) of the Water
Resources Division. The water quality program provides
program leadership and technical services in the
following areas:
•
Water Quality Baseline Inventories
• Water Quality Vital Signs Monitoring (chemical,
physical, biological)
• Aquatic contaminants and aquatic toxicity
• The application of regulatory tools to
water quality protection
• Water quality strategic planning and reporting
• Water quality data management
The
Water Quality Program is designed to support headquarters,
regions, networks, and park-based managers and resource
specialists by: providing national consistency in
the acquisition and management of water quality
information; synthesizing information on the quality
of park waters at the national level; promoting
effective use of regulatory initiatives to establish
protective designations for critical park surface
and ground water resources; coordinating and administering
cooperating agency long-term monitoring programs
in parks; transferring state-of-the-art information
on aquatic contaminants and aquatic toxicity issues;
and assuming responsibility for special studies
requiring specialized technical or regulatory/policy
skills, or which deal with significant issues of
multi-park, regional or national scope. In addition,
the program provides technical assistance to parks
without access to the specialized skills represented
by the Water Quality Program staff.