Water Monitoring and Assessment Alfred L. Korndoerfer Jr., Chief Bureau of Freshwater & Biological Monitoring Water Monitoring and Standards NJDEP Presented.

Water Monitoring and Assessment

Alfred L. Korndoerfer Jr., ChiefBureau of Freshwater & Biological

Monitoring

Water Monitoring and StandardsNJDEP

Presented at: Volunteer Monitoring SummitOctober 1, 2004

Land Use Management

Ernie Hahn

Water Monitoring & Standards

Leslie McGeorge

Watershed Management Water Supply

NJ Geological Survey

Land Use Regulation

DEP LUM ORGANIZATION

Water Quality Standards& Assessment

Debra Hammond

Commissioner’s Office

Bradley M. Campbell

Marine Water Monitoring

Bob Connell

Freshwater & BiologicalMonitoring

Al Korndoerfer

Water Monitoring & Standards Program

Water monitoring, standards & assessment

Collect, analyze, & distribute high quality data and information

Information used by DEP, other state agencies, federal & local governments, environmental community, business community, & general public

Monitoring & Assessment Programs

• Fresh Water• Ground Water• Marine & Estuarine Water

– Chemical

– Physical

– Biological

Water Management Cycle

SWQSMonitoring

Assessment

303d List*TMDLs

Permit LimitsNPS Controls

Compliance & Enforcement

Impaired?

Financing

* Integrated Water Quality Monitoring & Assessment Report - Sublist 5

Research

Uses of Ambient Water Quality Data

• 305(b) Report (a primary data source)

• 303(d) listing/de-listing process

• Developing waterbody specific TMDL approaches

• Background / reference data utilized in standards development

Freshwater & Biological Monitoring

•Where do we monitor:• Rivers• Streams• Lakes

• What do we monitor:• Water column chemistry• Sediment chemistry• Biological conditions• In-stream & Riparian Habitat

Ambient Surface water monitoring network:

• Cooperative program with USGS - develops chemical / physical data to establish status and trends in water and sediment quality.

–Total of 115 surface water stations

Chemical Monitoring

Parameters Include:- Nutrients- DO- Bacteriological- Metals- Volatile Organics- Pesticides

(2003-2004)

Ambient Ground water monitoring network:

• Cooperative program with USGS and NJGS - develops chemical / physical data to establish status and trends in shallow ground water quality.

–Total of 150 ground water stations

Chemical Monitoring

Groundwater Monitoring Network

- Shallow well network

- 150 wells total

- Land use-based - Agriculture - Undeveloped - Urban

- Parameters monitored:nutrients, VOCs, metals, pesticides, radioactivity

Supplemental Ambient Surface Water Monitoring Network

• Initiated October 2000

• Station siting criteria:– Coverage in all 152 - HUC 11 units– Integrator locations– At AMNET (Biological) sites– Include tidally influenced sites– Stakeholder input

• 177 Sites for 2 Years of Quarterly Sampling

• Parameters - nutrients, flow, and field parameters

Supplemental Ambient Surface Water Monitoring

Network Sites

CY2000 - 2004

Supplemental Ambient Surface Water Monitoring

Network Approach• Quarterly sampling for two years

• Oct. 2000 to Sept. 2002– WMA’s 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 18 and 19

• Oct. 2002 to Sept. 2004– WMA’s 4, 5, 7, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and

20

Biological Monitoring

•Ambient Bio-monitoring Network (AMNET)

•Over 820 stations•Sampled 1x/5yrs•Uses benthic macroinvertebrates as indicators of river/stream aquatic health

•Fish Index of Biotic Integrity (FIBI) •Supplements AMNET•Uses fish number and diversity (variety) as indicators

• Biological Monitoring

–Ambient Biomonitoring Network (AMNET) & Fish Index of Biotic Integrity (FIBI)• Both include semi-quantitative

assessments of in-stream and riparian habitat quality

Ambient Biological Monitoring Network (AMNET)

AMNET Statewide Results 1997-2001

35%

56%

9%

Non-impaired

Moderate

Severe

Non-impaired

Moderately impaired

Severely impaired

Fish Index of Biotic Integrity Network (FIBI)

Excellent

Good

Fair

Poor

N=55 sites

7 (13%)

31 (56%)

16 (29%)

1 (2%)

2000-02 IBI Ratings

Ambient Lake Monitoring Network

•Designed to provide the water quality data necessary to assess ecological health.

•200 randomly selected lakes from the ~ 1100 named lakes.

•40 lakes monitored per year, 3 times in a year (Early Spring, Summer & Late Fall)

•Determining status and long-term trends in lake water quality.

Ambient Lake Monitoring Network

•Water quality measurements conducted at each lake include:

•Dissolved oxygen• pH•Temperature•Specific Conductance• Alkalinity• Hardness• Secchi depths•Nutrients, and•Chlorophyll ‘a’

Lakes Selected for Year One of Monitoring

Ambient Lake Monitoring Network

•In addition to this effort to monitor the overall health of our lakes statewide, the state is conducting follow-up monitoring on targeted lakes:

•Seven lakes, for which ambient monitoring data are needed to determine if restoration activities have been effective, will be monitored over the next five years using the same protocols described for the Ambient Lake Monitoring Network.

Targeted Water Quality Monitoring Activities

• Targeted Monitoring (regional & local):– Impaired Waterbodies List

• Elevated Flow Metals Monitoring

– TMDLs• Non-point Source Monitoring (Lower

Delaware Basin)• Statewide Stream Bacteriological TMDL

Source Identification Monitoring • Stream specific TMDL Monitoring (Rancocas

Creek, Shark River, etc.)

Targeted Water Quality Monitoring Activities

• Targeted Monitoring (regional & local):

– Pollution / Impairment Track-down Monitoring

• Mirror Lake Lead contamination

– Automated Water Quality Monitoring• Diurnal DOs in streams

Targeted Water Quality Monitoring Activities

• Targeted Monitoring (regional & local):– Biological Monitoring Refinements

• Pinelands Biometric Development• Northern Region AMNET Genus/Species

Biometric Development• Headwaters Fish IBI Protocol Development

Access to Freshwater & Biological Data

Hard Copy Reports (609-292-0427) Geographical Information System USEPA STORET National Database

http://www.epa.gov/STORET/dbtop.html

USGS National Database - NWIShttp://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis

WM&S/BFBM Website:

–http://www.state.nj.us/dep/wmm/bfbm/

Questions?