Chapter 2: Program
2.2.6 Wafer
2.2.6.4 Water
M
and Reporting
Lesson: Projects should invest in the plan-
ning and design of the water quality moni-
toring program. The monitoring plan
Lesson: Monitoring objectives for trend
should be developed based on the monitor-
detection or impact assessment should
ing objectives. The monitoring plan should
identify the water quality variable and the
include the monitoring design, agency
reason the variable is expected to change
roles, laboratory procedures, quality as-
with time.
surance and
control, data storage,
reporting
personnel
The water quality monitoring objec-
needed, and costs.
tive in Florida
stated the water quality
variabl: (total phosphorus) being monitored and
Vermont project is a model of
the changes that should occur in that variable
how a project can plan and implement a moni-
concentration at
(50% reduction in
toring program.
The project implemented
project outlet). That variable was to evaluate
short-term, intensive monitoring on a field-scale
the
of
for reduc-
specific
to document the effectiveness
ing phosphorus loads to Lake
as
while at the same time monitoring for a longer
quality concen-
by changes in
term on a watershed and
scale
trations and loads in the tributaries and basin
evaluate the effectiveness of a combination of
outlet.
many different
Example: The Idaho
project had realis-
tic, quantitative goals for reducing sediment
However, water quality
also should have
2.2.6.5 W a t e r
Monitoring
been developed to achieve the designated
established by the
for Rock Creek. The
lack of goals directly related to use-support
hindered the initial establishment of a water
n Lesson: The most (statistically) effective
quality monitoring design that could directly
protocol for detecting long-term trends in-
document progress towards use-support goals.
cludes collection of samples on a regularly
However, the project did establish an extensive
biological and habitat monitoring program that
spaced predetermined time schedule.
documented changes in beneficial use
in
Rock Creek.
Idaho
project
Example:
sample
(at
inter-
vals) to document a decrease in suspended
sediment concentrations.
Lesson: Trend detection and impact assess-
ment may be the most important objectives
The Utah, Vermont, and Florida pro-
for long-term watershed projects_ Other
jects used regularly-timed sampling to document
objectives, such as storm event
water quality improvements.
for load calculations or
After changing their water quality
ant relationships, may be useful; however,
design from trend determination to
sam-
these objectives are auxiliary and should
pling, the Oregon
project personnel
be addressed in addition to, not instead of,
found that
difficult quantify from
the predetermined and scheduled sampling
storm samples of
data. Samples
for the primary objective(s).
for trend detection should have been collected
on a regular,
schedule.
the
the majority of the water quality objectives
addressed water quality problems and the
sources of the pollutants, not water quality trend
detection. As a consequence, the water
information which was gathered, although use-
ful for identifying pollutants'
was
able to demonstrate changes in water quality.
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