Georgia Water Science Center
ACF NAWQAUSGS IN YOUR STATEUSGS Water Science Centers are located in each state. ![]() |
The Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program study
The goal of the ACF River basin study design is to compare and contrast the effects of predominant land uses on surface- and ground-water quality. Forest and agriculture are dominant land uses and land covers within the ACF River basin, accounting for 59 and 29 percent of the study area, respectively. Most agricultural land in the upper and middle Chattahoochee and upper Flint River subbasins is used for livestock grazing and poultry production, while most agricultural land in the southern ACF River basin is used for row crops and vegetables; and to a lesser extent, orchards. Urban land use accounts for 5.3 percent of the study area. In 1990, the population of the ACF River basin was about 2.64 million people, 60 percent of which lived in the Metropolitan Atlanta area. Wetland areas account for about 5.4 percent of the entire basin. Agricultural and urban land uses are of particular interest within the ACF River basin, because they have the greatest potential impact on the physical, chemical, and biological quality of the surface- and ground-water resources. The National Water Quality Assessment ProgramThe National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) provides an understanding of water-quality conditions; whether conditions are getting better or worse over time; and how natural features and human activities affect those conditions. Regional and national assessments are possible because of a consistent study design and uniform methods of data collection and analysis. Monitoring data are integrated with geographic information on hydrological characteristics, land use, and other landscape features in models to extend water-quality understanding to unmonitored areas. Local, State, Tribal, and national stakeholders use NAWQA information to design and implement strategies for managing, protecting, and monitoring water resources in many different hydrologic and land-use settings across the Nation. The USGS implemented the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program in 1991 to develop long-term consistent and comparable information on streams, rivers, ground water, and aquatic systems in support of national, regional, State, and local information needs and decisions related to water-quality management and policy. The NAWQA program is designed to address the following objectives and answer these questions:
USGS scientists collect and interpret data about surface- and ground-water chemistry, hydrology, land use, stream habitat, and aquatic life in parts or all of nearly all 50 States using a nationally consistent study design and uniform methods of sampling analysis (access NAWQA protocols). From 1991-2001, the NAWQA Program conducted interdisciplinary assessments and established a baseline understanding of water-quality conditions in 51 of the Nation's river basins and aquifers, referred to as Study Units. Descriptions of water-quality conditions in streams and ground water were developed in more than a thousand reports (access NAWQA publications). Non-technical Summary Reports, written primarily for those interested or involved in resource management, conservation, regulation, and policymaking, were completed for each of the 51 Study Units. Non-technical national summary reports on pesticides, nutrients, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) also were completed, in which water-quality conditions were compared to national standards and guidelines related to drinking water, protection of aquatic life, and nutrient enrichment. NAWQA activities during the second decade (2001-2012) focus in large part on national and regional assessments, all of which build on continued monitoring and assessments in 42 of the 51 Study Units completed in the first cycle (USGS Fact Sheet 071-01). Selected major activities during the second decade include:
NAWQA is planning activities for its third decade (2013-2023) (access a summary of the Program's progress through 2008 and setting the stage for the future). |