Tribal, and local levels in making sound management decisions. To a significant extent, these responsibilities are being carried out in the National Water-Quality Assessment (NA WQA) Program, whose goals include providing a sound understanding of the natural and human factors that affect water quality. The NA WQA Program will include investigations in 60 study areas throughout the Nation that represent a variety of geologic, hydrologic, climatic, and cultural conditions. These studies are building blocks for understanding regional differences in physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the Nation' s ground water and surface water. An important goal of the program is to ensure that key findings are available to the public so that they can be aware of the quality of the Nation' s water resources. This report is part of a series of nontechnical publications based on results from the NA WQA Program. The purpose of these publications is to describe key findings from the individual investigations and to relate those findings to water-quality issues of regional and national concern. By disseminating this information, the U.S. Geological Survey seeks to increase awareness of water-quality concerns when considering the Nation's environmental issues. Director A sa former governor of an arid state, I have a special appreciation for the value of water resources. Unless we have sufficient supplies of good quality water when and where we need it-and understand how natural and human conditions affect water quality-we cannot wisely manage this vital resource.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is committed to providing the Nation with credible scientific information that helps to enhance and protect the overall quality of life and that facilitates effective management of water, biological, energy, and mineral resources (http://www.usgs.gov/). Information on the Nation's water resources is critical to ensuring long-term availability of water that is safe for drinking and recreation and is suitable for industry, irrigation, and fish and wildlife. Population growth and increasing demands for water make the availability of that water, now measured in terms of quantity and quality, even more essential to the long-term sustainability of our communities and ecosystems. The USGS implemented the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program in 1991 to support national, regional, State, and local information needs and decisions related to water-quality management and policy (http:// water.usgs.gov/nawqa). The NAWQA Program is designed to answer: What is the condition of our Nation's streams and ground water? How are conditions changing over time? How do natural features and human activities affect the quality of streams and ground water, and where are those effects most pronounced? By combining information on water chemistry, physical characteristics, stream habitat, and aquatic life, the NAWQA Program aims to provide science-based insights for current and emerging water issues and priorities. From 1991 to 2001, the NAWQA Program completed 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 (http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/studyu.html). In the second decade of the Program (2001-2012), a major focus is on regional assessments of water-quality conditions and trends. These regional assessments are based on major river basins and principal aquifers, which encompass larger regions of the country than the Study Units. Regional assessments extend the findings in the Study Units by filling critical gaps in characterizing the quality of surface water and ground water, and by determining status and trends at sites that have been consistently monitored for more than a decade. In addition, the regional assessments continue to build an understanding of how natural features and human activities affect water quality. Many of the regional assessments employ modeling and other scientific tools, developed on the basis of data collected at individual sites, to help extend knowledge of water quality to unmonitored, yet comparable areas within the regions. The models thereby enhance the value of our existing data and our understanding of the hydrologic system. In addition, the models are useful in evaluating various resource-management scenarios and in predicting how our actions, such as reducing or managing nonpoint and point sources of contamination, land conversion, and altering flow and (or) pumping regimes, are likely to affect water conditions within a region. Other activi...
29. Concentrations of semi-volatile organic compounds (polycyclic-aromatic hydrocarbons) in aquatic biota, Yakima River basin, Washington, 1989-90 ------Quality Assurance Data Water Column 30A-H. Concentrations of carbamate compounds in replicate and (or) spiked whole-water samples from the following locations, Washington: 30A.
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