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| As the agency responsible for protecting Idaho's
surface water, DEQ continually monitors and assesses the quality of
the state's rivers, streams, and lakes. This information is used to
report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and to make decisions
regarding water quality management. |
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| How Monitoring and Assessment Protect Water
Quality |
| Protecting Idaho's surface waters is a continual
process. Most steps in this process involve monitoring or assessing
water quality or using the results of the monitoring and assessment
to report on the quality of Idaho's waters, write water quality plans
(total maximum daily loads), or write and implement implementation
plans. The success of those plans is evaluated through more monitoring
and assessment. The primary steps in this process are described below.
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Step 1. Collect
Data |
The Surface
Water Ambient Monitoring Plan outlines DEQ's approach to collecting
and integrating ambient water quality monitoring data from a variety
of monitoring programs, including the Beneficial
Use Reconnaissance Program (BURP), the Environmental Monitoring
and Assessment Program (EMAP), the Trend Monitoring Network, and
special studies.
DEQ's BURP program sends crews into the field to collect water temperature
data, biological samples (e.g., fish, bacteria), chemical measures
(e.g., specific conductivity, the ability of water to pass an electrical
current), and habitat data from Idaho 's surface water. The data collected
are used to determine whether beneficial uses are being supported
in Idaho 's streams, rivers, and lakes. DEQ also collects data through
the Trend Monitoring Network. This program, operated by the U.S. Geological
Survey in cooperation with DEQ, monitors trends in water quality at
56 sites around Idaho. Further, DEQ participates in an EPA-funded
pilot project, EMAP,
to analyze water quality conditions of western rivers and streams.
In addition to its own data collection efforts, DEQ also solicits
and considers data submitted from outside sources such as the U.S.
Forest Service, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
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Step 2. Assess Data and Determine Beneficial Use Support |
| Using BURP and other data and the methods described
in the Water Body Assessment Guidance (WBAG),
DEQ determines if each of Idaho's water bodies meets water
quality standards and supports beneficial uses. |
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Step 3. Write and Submit Required Reports |
| DEQ is required to submit an “Integrated
Report” to the EPA that describes the quality of all of
Idaho's water bodies and identifies and prioritizes the state's water
quality problems. This report is based on the data collected and analyzed
in Steps 1 and 2 and is submitted to the EPA approximately every two
years. |
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Step 4. Evaluate
Impaired Waters to Determine Causes and Source of
Pollutants |
| Where water quality fails to meet state water quality
standards (as documented in the Integrated Report), DEQ evaluates
the water body to determine the causes and sources of pollutants.
This is called the subbasin
assessment. Additional data are collected to complete the subbasin
assessment. This assessment is the first step to either developing
a total maximum daily load (TMDL) or recommending removing the water
body from the list of impaired waters. |
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Step 5. Establish Total Maximum Daily Loads for Water
Bodies |
| Using information from the subbasin assessment,
DEQ establishes a TMDL for each
impaired water body. The TMDL sets maximum allowable levels for pollutants
causing water quality violations. |
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Step 6. Develop an Implementation Plan |
| An implementation plan is written after a TMDL is
developed. The plan provides details of the actions needed to achieve
pollutant load reductions and outlines a schedule of those actions.
The plan also specifies monitoring needed to document action and progress
toward meeting water quality standards. |
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Step 7. Continue to Monitor and Analyze Water Bodies |
| The implementation plan specifies monitoring methods
to determine if the recommended changes are improving water quality
and if and when water quality standards are being met. If a water
body was found to be meeting water quality standards in Steps 2, 3,
or 4 (that is, no TMDL or implementation plan was written), it will
be monitored again in the future to ensure it continues to meet standards.
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| Invasive Species Prevention |
Invasive species are a serious ecological and economic threat to Idaho. Monitoring activities have the potential to spread non-native noxious weeds, pathogens, and exotic flora and fauna among water bodies. Therefore, DEQ has instituted decontamination procedures to prevent the spread of invasive species. These procedures must be followed by all DEQ personnel monitoring surface waters.
› Link to Idaho's Action Plan for Invasive Species
(Idaho State Dept. of Agriculture Web site) |
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| Beneficial Use Reconnaissance Program |
| In
1993, DEQ embarked on a pilot monitoring program, the Beneficial
Use Reconnaissance Project (now Program), nicknamed “BURP,”
which combined biological monitoring and habitat assessment to determine
the quality of Idaho's waters. The purpose of BURP is to help Idaho
meet the requirements of the federal Clean Water Act by providing
data to use in determining the existing
uses and beneficial use support
status of Idaho's water bodies. The program has been implemented
statewide since 1994.
At the end of the 2003 BURP
season, a total of 5,182 stream sites had been sampled in Idaho,
making Idaho a national leader in bioassessment monitoring. |
How BURP Data Are Collected |
Each
summer, DEQ BURP technicians follow standardized procedures to collect
aquatic insects, conduct fish surveys, measure water chemistry,
and document habitat conditions in streams, rivers, and lakes. The
BURP surveys are performed during the same time period each year
so the information is comparable from one year to the next.
Aquatic insects and fish
are very sensitive to changes in water quality, so their presence,
abundance, and health serve as indicators of the overall quality
of a water body. Generally, unpolluted waters support a greater
variety of aquatic insects and fish than polluted waters. |
How BURP Data Are Used |
The
BURP data are evaluated against Idaho's water quality standards
using Idaho's Water Body Assessment Guidance
to determine if the water body is meeting standards and supporting
beneficial uses. If a water body is found to not be meeting water
quality standards, a water quality plan, or total maximum daily
load (TMDL), is developed. If a water body is found to be meeting
standards, it will be monitored again in the future to ensure it
continues to meet standards.
The results
of BURP monitoring are used in other ways as well, including providing
data for use in:
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How DEQ Ensures Quality BURP Data |
| The data gathered from BURP monitoring are the basis
for many surface water quality decisions made by DEQ. However, those
decisions are only as good as the data they are based on. DEQ ensures
quality BURP data by providing centralized training for BURP crews,
using a standardized manual, following annual work plans, conducting
annual field reviews, and following a quality assurance plan. |
Centralized
Training |
Centralized
training for regional BURP coordinators and BURP field crews ensures
that all BURP data from across the state are collected and recorded
in the same manner. Each year's training includes on-the-ground
training in collection techniques and a review of the BURP field
manual and current year's work plan. |
| BURP Field Manual for Streams |
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The BURP field manual describes the BURP data collection process
including the assumptions, methods, and equipment required to provide
statewide consistency in data collection. |
| BURP Annual Work Plans and Field Evaluations |
Each
year, the BURP program develops an annual work plan to provide background
information about BURP and list yearly objectives, special considerations,
and the watersheds to be sampled. Annual work plans also help provide
consistency within the program and serve as a substantial portion
of BURP's quality assurance/quality control program. In addition,
a one-day field audit is held each year with each BURP field crew
as it samples a stream reach. The purpose of the audits is to ensure
that all protocols are being followed. The BURP field crews are
provided feedback on their techniques the day of the audit and a
report summarizing all of the audits is written at the end of the
field season. |
| BURP Quality Assurance Plan for Field Data
Sheets |
The
BURP quality assurance plan describes DEQ's quality control measures
for using and processing BURP field data sheets. |
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| Link to BURP Manuals
and Plans on this Web site. |
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| BURPTrak |
| DEQ uses software called BURPTrak
to track field data sheets and samples as they travel between regional
and state offices and contracting laboratories. Access to
BURPTrak is password-protected and provided here for use by DEQ employees
and contractors. |
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| Water Body Assessment Guidance |
The
Water Body Assessment Guidance (WBAG) describes DEQ's methods for
evaluating data and determining beneficial use support of Idaho
water bodies. Assessing a water body involves analyzing and integrating
multiple types of data to determine the degree of beneficial use
support and biological integrity of the water body and compile descriptive
information about the water body. The current WBAG, published in
2002, is referred to as “WBAG II,” as it replaced the
original WBAG published in 1996.
DEQ recognizes three categories
of beneficial use support status: fully supporting, not fully supporting,
and not assessed. “Fully supporting” means that a water
body is in compliance with water quality standards and criteria
and supports all designated and existing beneficial uses. “Not
fully supporting” refers to a water body that is not in compliance
with all water quality standards or criteria or is not supporting
all beneficial uses. The “not assessed” category describes
water bodies that have either not been monitored by DEQ at all or
have been monitored to some extent, but are missing critical information
needed to complete an assessment. |
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| Link to the Water
Body Assessment Guidance document on this Web site. |
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WBAG Public Involvement
and Response to Comment Summary |
| DEQ solicited public comment on a draft version
of WBAG II and its supporting technical documents from February 1
through June 1, 2001. The Public Involvement and Response to Comment
Summary document describes DEQ's public involvement process for the
WBAG II, provides responses to public comments, and summarizes resulting
changes to the guidance. |
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| Link to the WBAG
Public Involvement and Response to Comment Summary document on
this Web site. |
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Water Body Assessment
Guidance Framework |
| Two framework documents (one for rivers and one
for small streams) provide technical information supporting the aquatic
life use support section (Section 6) of the WBAG. |
| Idaho River Ecological
Assessment Framework |
The
Idaho River Ecological Assessment Framework describes DEQ's ecological
assessment approach to determine aquatic life beneficial use support
in Idaho's rivers. It provides detailed technical information concerning
the development of the River Macroinvertebrate Index, River Fish
Index, River Diatom Index, and River Physicochemical Index. |
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| Link to the Idaho
River Ecological Assessment Framework document on this Web site. |
| Idaho Small Stream Ecological Assessment
Framework |
The
Idaho Small Stream Ecological Assessment Framework describes DEQ's
ecological assessment approach to determine aquatic life beneficial
use support in Idaho's small streams. This document provides detailed
technical information concerning the development and integration
of the Stream Macroinvertebrate Index, Stream Fish Index, and Stream
Habitat Index. |
| Link to the Idaho
Small Stream Ecological Assessment Framework document on this
Web site. |
