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National Water Quality Monitoring Council February 1 , 2011

Establishing a collaborative and multipurpose long-term National Network of Reference Watersheds and Monitoring Sites for Freshwater Streams in the United States. National Water Quality Monitoring Council February 1 , 2011. Why is this important now?.

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National Water Quality Monitoring Council February 1 , 2011

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  1. Establishing a collaborative and multipurpose long-term National Network of Reference Watersheds and Monitoring Sites for Freshwater Streams in the United States National Water Quality Monitoring Council February 1, 2011

  2. Why is this important now? • Increased need for long-term data and information on the status and trends in stream flow and water quality of relatively unimpaired watersheds that is not being met by existing programs • Climate Effects • Atmospheric Deposition • Frame of Reference for Stream Assessments • Nutrient Criteria • TMDLs • Bio-criteria

  3. Monitoring Networks USGS USEPA USFS NPS NSIP Sentinel, HBN, NAWQA, HCDN, GAGES NARS, LTM, TIME Wadeable Streams Experimental Forest’s, Stream Assessments National Parks NSF States NEON, STREON 305 (b), 303 (d), Biomonitoring

  4. Recommendation #1 • Develop an NADP-Like National, collaborative, Multi-Agency, Multi-purpose, Long-term Reference Site/watershed Monitoring Network • Initially to be Limited to freshwater streams • Membership Voluntary • Funding from participating Agencies • Organization and Leadership provided by Advisory Committee on Water Information or National Water Quality Monitoring Council • Executive Committee would provide program guidance and direction based on recommendations of several technical and operational subcommittees

  5. Recommendation #1 cont. • National Collaborative Network – Features • Common Protocols • Common Data elements • Comparable Laboratory analyses • Stringent quality assurance & quality Control • Data management • Links to other Networks • **Assessment Products**

  6. Recommendation #2 • Tiered Design Suitable for Multiple Objectives • Routine and real-time monitoring (e.g. Sentinel, HBN, NAWQA) • Synoptic monitoring (e.g. NARS, TIME, LTM) • Modeling and remote sensing

  7. Recommendation #4: Laboratory Analyses • Review and coordinate laboratory analytical schedules among HBN, NASQAN, NAWQA, NMN, NADP to meet agency objectives (ongoing) • Evaluate option of shifting HBN sample load for low ionic strength waters from New York WSC laboratory to National Water Quality Laboratory. • Work with National Water Quality Laboratory to develop proposal and business plan to provide laboratory analytical services to Multi agency, long term Reference Monitoring Network.

  8. Next Steps • Share concepts and seek approval from ACWI, and SWAC to develop collaborative, multi-agency reference site network (February 2011) • Work within the Council to define the organizational structure of an executive committee and technical steering committee including appropriate representation from participating agencies, development of a charter, and defining duties and responsibilities. • Work with the Council on network design, products and outcomes, quality assurance and quality control, laboratory requirements and data management. • Complete inventory and assessments of reference networks with other federal and state agencies (one year) • Identify data gaps and prioritize existing and candidate sites for a network of reference watersheds and sites for tracking climate, atmospheric, and land use effects on streamflow and water quality.

  9. National Streamflow Information Program Sentinel Sites Inactive NSIP_S Sites

  10. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Monitoring Sites

  11. U.S. Forest Service Stream Assessment and Experimental Forest Sites

  12. National Park Service Water-Quality Sites

  13. Testing an approach using Level-2 Ecoregions that could be used across the conterminous U.S. Initial Effort

  14. Atlantic Highlands and Mixed Wood Plains Level II Ecoregion 5.3 and 8.1

  15. Water-Quality and Research Sites

  16. Groundwater Wells, Weather Stations, and Deposition Sites

  17. Atlantic Highlands and Mixed Wood Plains

  18. Streamgage Status

  19. Hydrologic Benchmark Network--2010

  20. Nutrient and Major Ion Sampling Sites

  21. All Agency Sites

  22. Reference Watersheds having Multiple Monitoring Sites

  23. USGS Streamgage Watersheds Identified as Candidate Reference Sites

  24. Hydro-Climatic Data Network Inactive HCDN Sites

  25. Initial steps for evaluating watersheds • Determine characteristics for each Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) 10 basin in an ecoregion • Determine characteristics for potential reference site basins • Score HUC10s and sites based on a rank-scoring • -%urban, %ag, %protected land, storage, NPDES • Evaluate sites having low rank-score

  26. Committee Activities • Assessment and inventory of existing monitoring site networks for streams in USGS and other agencies • Outreach--Contact and develop collaborative relations with other agencies • Discuss key network design issues • Conduct systematic review and prioritization of existing and candidate sites to meet data needs • Discuss and develop alternative network designs, operational and management scenarios and develop recommendations

  27. Inventory Process

  28. Recommendation #3: USGS Monitoring Networks Management Model • Board of Directors/Executive Committee Style Model consisting of Network Coordinators responsible for resources and outcomes from the individual network(s). • Chaired by one of the Network Coordinators on a rotating basis • Sentinel, Climate Response Network, HBN, NAWQA, NASQAN, NADP, WEBB (?) Federal State Cooperative (?) • Reporting to (and through) the 3 Technical Offices to the Associate Directors for Water for final approval • Responsible for: • Program planning, work plans, budget guidance and allocations • Products, outcomes, and communication

  29. Committee Composition • Bill Wilber (Chair) • Daren Carlisle • Dave Clow • Charlie Crawford • Jeff Deacon • James Falcone • Earl Greene • Jurate Landwehr • Harry Lins • Alisa Mast • Michael McHale • Pete Murdoch • Mark Nilles • Mike Norris Others Involved • Denise Argue • Marilee Horn • Martyn Smith

  30. Hydrologic Benchmark Network--1963

  31. Committee Objectives Develop a plan for a shared, multipurpose, long-term, National reference site network for freshwater streams that will provide data to: • Detect and predict changes in stream flow, water chemistry, and aquatic communities due to changes in: climate, atmospheric deposition, and land use. Develop options and a recommendation for funding and operational models that can be sustained through 2023

  32. Members Bill Wilber (Chair, OWQ, NAWQA) Alisa Mast (HBN, COWSC) Michael McHale (HBN, CEN (NY WSC) JurateLandwehr (NRP-HCDN) Harry Lins (Office of Surface Water) Daren Carlisle (NAWQA-Ecology) Charlie Crawford (NAWQA) James Falcone (NAWQA-GIS) Linda Debrewer (Office of Ground Water Ex Officio Members Mark Nilles (HBN, NADP) Jeff Deacon (CEN, NAWQA) Pete Murdoch (CEN, HBN) Mike Norris (NSIP) Earl Greene (HNA) HBN-plus ad hoc Committee

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