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/ Land classification systems can be useful for assessing aquatic ecosystems if relationships among them exist. Because the character of an aquatic ecosystem depends to a large extent upon the character of the landscape it drains, spatial patterns in aquatic ecosystems should correspond to patterns in the landscape. To test this hypothesis, the US state of Ohio was divided into four aquatic ecoregions based on an analysis of spatial patterns in the combination of land-surface form, land use, potential natural vegetation, and soil parent material. During the period July-October 1983, fish assemblages were sampled in 46 streams that were representative of the ecoregions, and that had watersheds relatively undisturbed by human activities. Spatial patterns of the fish assemblages were examined relative to the ecoregions; distinct regional differences were identified. The assemblages differed most between the Huron/Erie Lake Plain region and the Western Allegheny Plateau region; assemblages in the Eastern Corn Belt Plains and the Erie/Ontario Lake Plain-Interior Plateau regions were intermediate. This pattern also reflects the gradient in landscape character as one moves from the northwest to the southeast of Ohio.The US Environmental Protection Agency's revised Water Quality Standards Regulation (Federal Register 1983) reflects a change in the fundamental direction of federal and state water quality programs. For the past decade, these programs had a "water pollution control" focus aimed at reduction of pollution discharges, especially through the national effort to build wastewater treatment plants and to attain a zero discharge of toxic materials. This approach did not assess whether and to what extent receiving systems would benefit. The new direction is toward "attainable water quality" with greater emphasis on assessing the quality of receiving systems and what is realistically attainable.Although the basic elements of the new approach have an apparently sound scientific basis, the specific scientific knowledge and techniques required for implementation have not been fully developed. One major need is to clarify the regional patterns of attainable quality and uses. We suggest doing this by characterizing minimally disturbed streams that are representative of a region as a measure of what might be

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Fecal contamination and organic pollution of an agricultural drainage in northeast Indiana was high. Bacterial counts (total coliform, TC; fecal coliform, FC; and fecal streptococcus, FS) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) were used to assess waste concentrations. Coliform counts indicated that sections of the drainage receiving septic effluent had waste concentrations far in excess of public health standards (mean FC = 550,000/100 ml). Areas of drainage remote from septic tank pollution were found to occasionally meet federal public health standards for whole body contact recreation but generally these areas had twice the allowable limit of 200 FC/lOO ml. Bacterial contamination was highest during runoff events when the median values for TC, FC, and FS were 5,3, and 17 times greater, respectively, than the median values during low stream discharge. Surface flows carried contaminants from unconfined livestock operations and fecally contiminated sediment was transported by high waters. During one runoff event a BOD loading of 36.7 kg/km2 was recorded and the peak BOD concentration observed was 16 mg/l. A discharge of liquid manure from a confined livestock operation caused a major fish kill. Pollution from septic tanks and unconfined livestock is greatest at high stream discharge when dilution reduces the impact on aquatic life. (KEY TERMS: bacterial pollution; BOD; agricultural runoff; coliform bacteria; fish kill; water pollution sources.)