DWQ Home > Water Quality Assessment > Documents
Water Quality Assessment: Documents and Additional Information
| Current Report | Previous Reports | Resources | Standards |
Numerous documents and websites have been developed that together provide a rich suite of resources for understanding water quality assessments. Summaries and links to many of these materials are provided below. We realize that sorting through the information to answer a specific question can seem daunting, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to direct you to the specific information you are seeking.
Great Salt Lake Issues
Water Quality Assessments for Kids (Young and Old)
EPA has developed fantastic outreach materials to teach water quality assessment principles to children of all ages. For educators, these materials offer a way to teach science to children using materials that can be directly observed and appreciated by students. For the rest of us, these materials provide an excellent introduction to water quality assessment principles.
EPA Guidance
Consolidated Assessment and Listing Methodology–Toward a Compendium of Best Practices (CALM)
CALM is the most comprehensive EPA guidance on conducting beneficial use assessments. While the entire document is somewhat lengthy, individual chapters can be downloaded individually depending on the topic of interest.
EPA Biennial Guidance Memos
In the world of environmental law, ambiguity begets lawsuits, which ultimately divert resources from our primary objective of protecting water quality. On the flip side, these suits bring clarity to the nuances that must be addressed when interpreting science in the context of federal regulations. Regardless of ones position on individual issues, EPA continually interprets federal rules and regulations with regard to assessment issues. The result of these interpretations is technical memorandums that clarify key assessment issues.
- 2010: Memorandum—Information Concerning 2010 Clean Water Act Sections 303(d), 305(b) and 314 of the Clean Water Act
- 2008: Memorandum—Information Concerning 2008 Clean Water Act Sections 303(d), 305(b) and 314 Integrated Reporting and Listing Decisions
- 2006: Guidance for 2006 Assessment, Listing and Reporting Requirements Pursuant to Sections 303(d), 305(b) and 314 of the Clean Water Act
- 2004: Guidance for 2004 Assessment, Listing and Reporting Requirements Pursuant to Sections 303(d), 305(b) and 314 of the Clean Water Act
- 2002: Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report Guidance: November 19, 2001
Guidelines for Preparation of the Comprehensive State Water Quality Assessments (305(b) Reports) and Electronic Updates
A number of sections in the Clean Water Act require states and EPA to collect data and report on the overall quality of our Nation’s waters. The Integrated Report is the 305(b) report combined with the 303(d) list of impaired waters. The following link provides access to EPA’s most recent (1997) and comprehensive guidance on the 305(b) portion of the report:
- Guidelines for EPA 303(d) Review
- Guidelines for Preparation of the Comprehensive State Water Quality Assessments (305(b) Reports) and Electronic Updates
Once the Integrated Report is complete, the report, public comments, and DWQ's responses to public comments are submitted to EPA for approval. Review of the report is typically conducted by EPA regional scientists. It is important to note that while EPA carefully reviews and comments on the entire report, formal EPA actions are limited to the 303(d) list of impaired waters. EPA has prepared guidance (.pdf document; 261 KB) to improve consistency among EPA regions in how reviews are conducted and legal language to use when formal action is taken on the 303(d) list. While this guidance was intended for use by EPA staff, it does succinctly summarize, with reference to federal regulations and case law, the actions available to EPA once the IR is submitted to them for approval.
Electronic Records of Assessment Results
Assessment Database (ADB)
EPA is required to compile assessment information submitted by States into a report that summarizes the overall condition of the Nation’s waters. This task is not trivial given the quantity of information and significant disconnect in monitoring and assessment methods employed by states. As a result, EPA now requires States to submit assessment information onto a common database, the ADB:
Watershed Assessment, Tracking and Environmental Results (WATERS)
WATERS is a Web-based interactive mapping function that allows users to view Integrated Report assessment information with maps and summary tables:
