Developing Learning Materials for Surface Water Monitoring

1. Developing Learning Materials for Surface Water Monitoring Presented by Stacey Hancock Advised by Scott Urquhart Colorado State University

2. This research is funded by U.S.EPA – Science To Achieve Results (STAR) Program Cooperative Agreement # CR - 829095 STARMAP FUNDINGSpace-Time Aquatic Resources Modeling and Analysis Program The work reported here today was developed under the STAR Research Assistance Agreement CR-829095 awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to Colorado State University. This presentation has not been formally reviewed by EPA.  The views expressed here are solely those of presenter and STARMAP, the Program she represents. EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in these presentation.

3. Overview • The Clean Water Act, EMAP and EPA Wadeable Streams Assessment • Goals of surface water monitoring training materials • Format of tutorial • Creating the tutorial • Future work

4. Section 305(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA): Water Quality Inventory • (1) Each State shall prepare and submit to the Administrator …biennially …a report which shall include • a description of the water quality of all navigable waters in such State… • (2) The Administrator shall transmit such State reports, together with an analysis thereof, to Congress …biennially thereafter.

5. Statistical Issues in Past Implementation of the CWA • No criteria for how States were to select waters on which to report. • State’s sites often reflected data gathered in response to some complaint. • Thus, it was assumed that the actual condition of the Nation’s waters is substantially better than reported.

6. Goals of the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) • Develop the scientific understanding for translating environmental monitoring data from multiple spatial and temporal scales into assessments of current ecological condition and forecasts of future risks to our natural resources. • Advance the science of ecological monitoring and ecological risk assessment, guide national monitoring with improved scientific understanding of ecosystem integrity and dynamics, and demonstrate multi-agency monitoring through large regional projects. • Develop indicators to monitor the condition of ecological resources. • Investigate designs that address the acquisition, aggregation, and analysis of multiscale and multitier data.

7. EMAP -West • Seek to develop and demonstrate the tools needed to measure ecological condition of the aquatic resources in the 14 western states in EPAs Regions 8, 9, and 10. • Series of reports on the ecological condition of water resources at the state and regional level. • Five components: • Design and Analysis • Coastal • Surface Waters • Landscapes • Information Management

8. EMAP-West Region

9. EMAP-West Objectives • Estimate current status in selected indicators of the West’s inland aquatic and estuarine resources on a state and regional basis with known confidence. • Estimate the geographic extent and distribution of the West’s inland aquatic and estuarine resources with known confidence. • Seek associations between selected indicators of natural and anthropogenic stresses and indicators of the ecological condition of target resources. • Provide a statistical summary and an assessment of the condition of the West’s inland aquatic and estuarine resources.

10. Wadeable Streams Assessment • Part of EMAP-West Surface Waters component • Study of the ecological condition of small streams throughout the U.S. • Designed like an opinion poll: 500 sites were selected at random to represent the condition of all streams in regions that share similar ecological characteristics. • First time a national monitoring study of streams has been conducted using this approach. • http://www.epa.gov/owow/monitoring/wsa/

11. Wadeable Streams Assessment Sampling Sites. Green dots represent sites that were sampled in summer of 2004; red dots represent sites that were sampled before summer of 2004.

12. Wadeable Streams Assessment: Key Statistical Components • Probability-based design for sampling site selection • Standardized field sampling and lab processing protocols • Comprehensive quality assurance program • Standardized data management system • Analysis plan for ecological assessment

13. Why Create a Surface Waters Monitoring Tutorial? • Alternative to lectures and field work demonstrations • Distance learning available to larger group of people • Comprehensive resource for teaching appropriate statistical methods in surface water sampling

14. Desirable Features of Tutorial • Distance learning concepts • Audio/Video and dynamic graphics • Variable-level (user selectable) presentations to include at least • Manager level overview; general intro • User level – details for usage • Background theory • Illustrative pictures, regionally selectable by user • Definition lists, including balloons associated with many technical words • Include case studies • Accessable from a CD ROM resident in the machine – Interactive pdf file.

15. Format of Tutorial • Why monitor? • Where to monitor? • What to monitor? • How to monitor? • How to summarize?

16. Creating the Tutorial • Microsoft Word • Table of contents • Bookmarks and links • Document map and headers • Adobe Acrobat • Inserting movies • Navigation tools

17. Problems Encountered • Movies embedded in Word document don’t convert to pdf • Need to define bookmarks in Word before links can be created • Easier way to insert navigation tools in pdf? • Currently insert arrows in Word footer, then create links in pdf • Headers convert to Bookmarks, but don’t retain outline ordering

18. Tutorial Demo • Excerpt from the “How to Monitor” section

19. Future Work • Complete other four sections of tutorial • Create glossary with links from terms within the tutorial • Generalize to areas other than the Northwest • Suggestions welcome!