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Download USGS report "Pesticides in the Nation's Streams and Ground Water 1992-2001"
USGS Fact Sheet
Briefing Talking Points
Press Release

THE QUALITY OF THE NATION’S WATER:
WHAT DO WE KNOW AND HOW CAN WE KNOW MORE?

                                    Briefing Series: Friday, February 25, 2005
                                                                Friday, March 4, 2005
                                                                Friday, March 11, 2005
                (All briefings will take place 9:30-11:30 a.m., 2318 Rayburn House Office Building)

     The US Geological Survey (USGS), Water Environment Federation (WEF) and Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invite you to a series of three Congressional briefings regarding water quality conditions in the United States. Recent reports by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Heinz Center for Science, Economics, and Environment have uncovered the challenges confronting the country’s ability to effectively monitor the quality of our streams and ground water. According to the most recent EPA report on water quality conditions in the United States, approximately 40% of assessed streams and rivers were not clean enough to support intended uses such as fishing and swimming. Yet, the report is based on 1998 data that only assessed 25% of the nation’s streams and rivers for water quality. So, how much do we really know about the condition of our streams and rivers?

     These briefings will provide specific examples of federal, state, and local governments’ effective use of monitoring information; demonstrate how monitoring data provide nationwide and regional models that are useful in protecting water quality of unmonitored areas; and explore the policy options for improving current water quality monitoring activities.

Water Quality Monitoring: Answers It Provides for Water Quality Protection
February 25, 2005, 9:30–11:30 a.m., 2318 Rayburn House Office Building

This briefing will explore questions that can be answered through monitoring, the strategies that are used to provide the answers, and how federal agencies and states can use data acquired through different monitoring strategies collaboratively to help meet water protection challenges. Needs and options for national policy on water quality monitoring will also be discussed.

Moderator: Robin O’Malley, Heinz Center for Science, Economics, and Environment
Speakers: Tim Miller, Chief, USGS Office of Water Quality Summary
                   Mike Shapiro, EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water
                   Sally Knowles, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

Moving from Monitoring to Prediction: The Quality of the Nation’s Streams
March 4, 2005, 9:30–11:30 a.m., 2318 Rayburn House Office Building

USGS scientists will detail how they extrapolate data collected from monitored sites to provide information about pollution in unmonitored streams. They will provide information about streams throughout the country with phosphorus concentrations above recommended levels, the sources and
their relative impacts on nutrient pollution in the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico, and water quality impacts of the concentration of the livestock industry. In addition, New England water quality experts will describe how they use the USGS national model to help protect the Long Island Sound from hypoxia and control non-point pollution in the region.

Speakers: Richard Alexander, USGS scientist Summary   Presentation
                   Dick Smith, USGS Scientist Summary   Presentation
                   Keith Robinson, New Hampshire USGS scientist Presentation
                   Laura Blake, New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission Presentation

Moving from Monitoring to Prediction: The Quality of the Nation’s Ground Water
March 11, 2005, 9:30–11:30 a.m., 2318 Rayburn House Office Building

USGS scientists will share how they are able to determine the likelihood of high nitrate levels in ground water for the entire country based on data from 1,280 sites. Furthermore, a USGS scientist from the Chesapeake Bay area will report predicted concentrations of nitrogen, agricultural pesticides, and urban pesticides in ground water in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain. Another USGS scientist will describe how national methods for determining arsenic levels in groundwater have been adapted for New England conditions and used by states to target drinking water wells for monitoring.

Moderator: Lynn Orphan, President, WEF
Speakers: Tom Nolan, USGS scientist Presentation
                   Scott Ator, Maryland USGS scientist Presentation
                   Keith Robinson, New Hampshire USGS scientist Presentation

The briefings are open to the public and no reservations are required. Please feel free to forward this notice. For more information, please contact Theresa Murzyn at 202/662-1884 or tmurzyn@eesi.org.

122 C Street, NW, Suite 630, Washington, DC 20001 | Phone: (202) 628-1400 | Fax: (202) 628-1825 | eesi@eesi.org