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<br />. <br /> <br />&EPA <br /> <br />Fact Sheet <br /> <br />Designated Uses - 40 CFR 131.10 <br /> <br />Designated uses are defined as those uses specified in water quality standards for each water <br />body or segment whether or not they are being attained (40 CFR 131.3(f)). <br /> <br />A water quality standard defines the water quality goals of a water body or portion thereof, in <br />part, by designating the use or uses to be made of the water. States and Tribes adopt water <br />quality standards to protect public health and welfare, enhance the quality of water and serve the <br />purposes of the Clean Water Act. "Serve the purposes of the Act" (as defined in sections <br />101(a)(2), and 303(c) of the Act) means that water quality standards should: <br /> <br />. provide, wherever attainable, water quality for the protection and propagation of fish, <br />shellfish, and wildlife, and recreation in and on the water ("fishable/swimmable"), and <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. consider the use and value of State waters for public water supplies, propagation of fish and <br />wildlife, recreation, agriculture and industrial purposes, and navigation. <br /> <br />The corresponding water quality standards regulation at 40 CFR 131.10 describes States' and <br />authorized Tribes' responsibilities for designating and protecting uses to meet the requirements of <br />the Act. The regulation requires States and Tribes to <br /> <br />. specify the water uses to be achieved and protected; <br />. requires protection of downstream uses; <br />. allows for sub-category and seasonal uses, for instance, to differentiate between cold <br />water and warm water fisheries; <br />. sets out minimum attainability criteria; <br />. lists six factors of which at least one must be satisfied to justify removal of designated <br />uses which are not existing uses; <br />. prohibits removal of existing uses; <br />. establishes a mandatory upgrading of uses which are existing but not designated; <br />. and establishes conditions and requirements for conducting use attainability analyses. <br /> <br />These provisions make a distinction between existing and designated uses and set out specific <br />requirements to ensure protection of these two broad use categories. Designated uses are those <br />uses specified in water quality standards for each water body or segment whether or not they are <br />being attained. Existing uses are those uses actually attained in the water body on or after <br />. November 28, 1975 (the date of EP A's initial water quality standards regulation), whether or not <br />