You are here:
NATIONAL WATER-QUALITY ASSESSMENT (NAWQA) PROGRAM
Description:
The National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program is designed to describe the status and trends in the quality of the Nations ground- and surface-water resources and to provide a sound understanding of the natural and human factors that affect the quality of these resources. As part of the program, investigations will be conducted in 59 areas-- called study units-- throughout the Nation to provide a framework for national and regional water-quality assessment. Regional and national synthesis of information from study units will consist of comparative studies of specific water-quality issues using nationally consistent information. The NAWQA Programs unique design provides consistent and comparable information on water resources in 60 important river basins and aquifers across the Nation. Together, these areas account for 60 to 70 percent of the Nations water use and population served by public water supplies and cover about one-half of the land area of the Nation. Investigations of these 60 areas, referred to as study units, are the principal building blocks of the NAWQA Program. The similar design of each investigation and use of standard methods make comparisons among the study units results possible. Regional and national assessments can be made. These regional and national assessments, referred to as National Synthesis, focus on priority national issues, including non-point source pollution, sedimentation, and acidification. Each issue is unique and manifests itself differently among the Nations diverse geographic, geologic, hydrologic, and climatic settings. The challenge and goal for NAWQA is, therefore to identify the common environmental characteristics associated with the occurrence of key water-quality constituents and to explain their differences throughout the Nation.