The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project will characterize the status and trends of water quality and aquatic ecosystems by monitoring ambient water-quality and ecological conditions through the newly established National Water Quality Network (NWQN) for Rivers and Streams. The NWQN is the primary source of data for the systematic annual reporting of ambient conditions nationally. The NWQN will also be a primary source of data for periodic interpretive analysis of status and trends for selected topics and regions, but these more intensive interpretive analyses will also utilize other sources of data, including compatible historical and current data from other monitoring networks and from NAWQA Regional Synoptic Studies (http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/studies/msqa/index.html).
Primary objectives of the NWQN are to:
- determine the status and trends of loads and concentrations of contaminants, nutrients, and sediment in the Nation's large rivers, including loads to selected major estuaries;
- determine the status and trends of concentrations of contaminants, nutrients, and sediment for selected wadeable streams in selected land-use and environmental settings; and
- determine trends in ecological condition in relation to trends in contaminants, nutrients, sediment, and streamflow alteration for selected wadeable streams in selected land-use and environmental settings.
