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<br />FOREWORD
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<br />The mission of the U,S, Geological SUlvcy (USGS) is to assess the quantity and quality of the earth
<br />rcsources of the Nation and to provide information that will assist resource managers and policymakers at
<br />Fedeml, State, and local levels in making sound decisions, Assessment of water-quality conditions and trends is
<br />an important part of this ovemll mission,
<br />One of thc greatest challenges faced by water-resources scientists is acquiring reliable information that
<br />will guide the use and protection of the Nation's water resources, That challenge is being addressed by Fedeml,
<br />State, interstate, and local water-resource agencie,~ and by many academic institutions, These organizations are
<br />collecting water-quality data for a host of purposes that include: compliance with permits and watcr-supply
<br />standards; development of remediation plans for a specific conrdmination problem; operational decisions on
<br />industrial, wastewater, or water-supply facilitics; and research on factors that affect water quality, An additional
<br />need for watcr-quality information is to provide a basis on which regional and national-level policy decisions can
<br />be based, Wise decisions must be based on sound information, As a society we need to know whcther certain
<br />types of water-quality problem~ arc isolated or ubiquitous, whether there arc significant differences in conditions
<br />among regions, whether the conditions arc changing over time, and why these conditions change from place to
<br />place and over time, The information can be used to help determine the efficacy of existing water-quality policies
<br />and to help analysts determine the need for and likely consequences of new policies,
<br />To address these needs, the Congress appropriated funds in 1986 for the USGS to begin a pilot progmm in
<br />seven project areas to develop and refine the National Water-Quality Assessment (NA WQA) Program, In 1'1'11,
<br />the USGS began full implementation of the program, The NA WQA Program builds upon an existing base of
<br />water-quality studies of the USGS, as well a~ those of other Federal, State, and local agencies, The objectives of
<br />the NAWQA Progmm are to:
<br />'Describe current water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's freshwater streant~, rivers,
<br />and aquifers,
<br />'Describe how water quality is changing over time,
<br />-Improve understanding of the primary natuml and human factors that affect water-quality conditions,
<br />This information will help support the development and evaluation of management, regulato!)', and monitoring
<br />decisions by other Fedeml, State, and local agencies to protect, use, and enhance water resources,
<br />The goals of the NA WQA Program are being achieved through ongoing and proposed investigations of 60
<br />of the Nation's most important river ba~ins and aquifer systems, which are referred to as study units, These study
<br />units are distributed throughout the Nation and cover a diversity of hydrogeologic settings, More than two-thirds
<br />of the Nation's freshwater use occurs within the 60 study units and more than two-third~ of the people selVed by
<br />public water-supply systems live within their boundaries,
<br />National synthesis of data analysis, ba~ed on aggregation of comparable infomlation obtained from the
<br />study units, is a major component of the program, This effort focuses on selected water-quality topics using
<br />nationally consistent information, Comparative studies will explain differences and similarities in obselVed
<br />water-quality conditions among study areas and will identify changes and trends and their causes, The tirsttopics
<br />addressed by the national synthesis are pesticides, nutrients, volatile organic compounds, and aquatic biology,
<br />Discussions on these and other water-quality topics will be published in periodic summaries of the quality of the
<br />Nation's groond and surface water as the information becomes available,
<br />This report is an clement of the comprehensive body of information developed as part of the NA WQA
<br />Progmm, The program depends heavily on the advice, cooperdtion, and information from many Fedcral. State,
<br />interstate, Tribal, and local agencies and the public, The al;sistance and suggestions of all are greatly appreciated,
<br />
<br />Robert M, Hirsch
<br />Chief Hydrologist
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