Pennsylvania’s

DEPARTMENT of ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION and

WATER QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAM

presented by

TONY SHAW

National Water Quality Monitoring Council Meeting

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania July 24-26, 2007

Population Centers of Pennsylvania

Topography of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvanian Environmental Personalities GIFFORD PINCHOT (1865-1946) • America's First Forester,

• “First Conservationist”

• First Director of US Forest Service

• Two term Governor of Pennsylvania

• Gray Towers Mansion

• Gifford Pinchot National Forest

• Gifford Pinchot State Park

J. HORACE McFARLAND (1859-1948)• Native of Juniata County, PA• “Father” of the National Park Service • “City beautiful" and preservation movement

Pennsylvanian Environmental Personalities

RACHEL CARSON (1907- 1964) • Native of Allegheny County, PA

• “Silent Spring”

NED SMITH (1919 –1985) • Native of Dauphin County, PA

• Naturalist, Wildlife Artist and illustrator of magazines, books, wildlife prints

Dr . MAURICE K. GODDARD(1912-1995)

Director - PSU School of Forest Resources

Secretary – PA Department of Forests and Waters - - - - -> PA Department of Environmental Resources . . . a merger of

Forests &Waters and Mines & Mineral Industries,

Pennsylvanian Environmental Personalities

and absorbed some duties performed by the Departments of Agriculture, Health, Labor and Industry, and the State Planning Board.

Goal: a park or forest recreation facility within 25 miles of most PA citizens.

Civil Service Status: to professional staff . . . . shielding them from being removed for political reasons

Parks

Forests

T opo & G eologic Survey

O thers

Resource M anagement

AIR

M IN IN G

O IL & G AS

R AD IATIO N PR O TEC TION

W ASTE M AN AGEM ENT

D rinking W ater Program s

B each/Poolinspection

O TH ER S

C O M M EN VIR O N C O N TR OL

M O N ITO R IN GASSESSM ENTR EPO R TIN G

STAN D AR DS PER M ITTIN GO PER ATIO N SC O M PLIAN CE

N PD ES

W ater Quality M gmt

Regulatory M anagement

ENVIRONM ENTAL RESOURCESDER

W ASTE, AIR, R AD IATION

M IN IN G , O IL & G AS

AD M IN ISTR ATION

EN ER G Y & TEC H

M O N ITO R IN G STAN D AR DS ASSESSM ENT

W Q STAN D AR DS PER M ITTIN GN PD ES

D R IN K IN G W ATER Program s

W ATER Q U ALITY PR O G R AM S

O TH ER LAK ESW ETLAN DS

C ITIZEN VO LU N TEERN O N PO IN T

W ATER SHED M ANAG EM ENT

W ATER PLAN N ING

W ATER W AYS EN G IN EER ING

W ATER M ANAGEM ENT

NORTH EAST

NORTH CENTRAL

NORTH W EST

SOUTH EAST

SOUTH CENTRAL

SOUTH W EST

FIELD OPERATIONS

ENVIRONM ENTAL PROTECTIONDEP

CONSERVATION &NATURAL RESOURCES

DCNR

O LD DER

WQM

WQM

WQM

WQM

WSM

WSM

Topography of Pennsylvania

Physiographic Provinces of Pennsylvania

Physiographic Sections of Pennsylvania

Major River Basins

Oil, Gas, & Coal Fields

Pennsylvania Land Cover

Public Lands in Pennsylvania

Streams with Antidegradation Special Protection

 Elements of Pennsylvania’s

Monitoring and Assessment Program

 

 

Division of Water Quality Standards

Bureau of Water Standards & Facility Regulation

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

  Streams,

  Lakes and Reservoirs,

  Groundwater,

  Wetlands,

• Estuarine and Coastal Waters

MONITOR and ASSESS “ALL WATERS / ALL USES”

Streams, Lakes, Reservoirs

• Surface Water Quality Monitoring Network (WQN)

• Statewide Surface Waters Assessments > Statewide Surface Waters Assessment Program

> Instream Comprehensive Evaluations (ICE) • Aquatic Life Special Water Quality Protection

Surveys • Cause/Effect Compliance Surveys • Use Attainability Studies • Lake Surveys

Surface Water Quality Monitoring Network (WQN)

~ 160 stations – Rivers, Streams, Lakes: to monitor water quality conditions on a broad scale

Major Streams & Rivers - Trend Analyses

Minimally Disturbed Streams - Reference Conditions

Lakes with public access - 5 year rotating cycle

Chesapeake Bay - Selected locations to monitor nutrient and sediment loading

Water Quality Network Stations

1997 - 2006 Station Map1997 - 2006

17,000+

Statewide Surface Waters Assessment Program (SSWAP)

1997 – 2006 Miles Assessed Map1997 - 2006

83,000+

6 RO Basins & Stations

Instream Comprehensive Evaluations (ICE)

SCRO Primary & Backup Sites

• Groundwater MonitoringWas implemented on a limited statewide scale. Now ~ inactive due to personnel and funding losses

Recent activity with the USGS in formulating a statewide, probabilistic monitoring design.

• Wetlands Monitoring in a “pilot project” phase . . . ~ 1/5 of the State was assessed using a probabilistic study design – needs program

commitment and long term funding

• Estuarine and Coastal Waters PA coastal waters are very small: Lake Erie shoreline (63 miles) and the Delaware Estuary (57 shoreline miles and 17 square miles).

Coastal Zone Management, Delaware Estuary Program

PROTECTED USES

Aquatic Life• Warm Water Fishes (WWF)• Cold Water Fishes (CWF)• Trout Stocking (TSF)• Migratory Fishes (MF)

Special Protection • High Quality Waters (HQ)• Exceptional Value Waters (EV)

Water Supply• Potable Water Supply (PWS)

Recreation• Water Contact Sports (WC)

Fish Consumption• Fishing (F)

• Special Protection (Antidegradation) > Macroinvertebrate Biological Condition

Score used to define High Quality & Exceptional Value Waters

• Specific Stream Habitat Benthic IBIs > Coldwater “Freestone” (summer and

non-summer indices) > Limestone streams

> Low-Gradient

• Fish IBI Development > Ohio Basin IBI development > Atlantic Slope IBI development & Ohio &

Atlantic IBI verification (REMAP)

Biological Metrics Assessment Tools

WATERBODY MONITORING ASSESSMENT305b/303d Reporting

STREAMS

Wadeable freestoneYES

Benthic IBIYES

Wadeable warm water YES

Benthic IBIfish IBI under development

YES

LimestoneYES

NEW benthic IBIYES

Low GradientYES

NEW benthic IBIYES

RiversLIMITED

WQN, fish advisories YES

LAKES ROTATING

FISH, MACROPHYTESunder protocol development

YES

GROUNDWATER VERY LIMITEDWQ CHEMISTRY

NO

WETLANDS NOPILOT PHASE

NO

COASTAL& ESTUARIES

NO

DEVELOPMENT PROJECT REVIEWSPECIAL DELEP

PROJECTS

?

Tony Shaw tshaw@state.pa.us 717-787-9637

Water Standards & Facility RegulationDepartment of Environmental ProtectionRachel Carson State Office Building400 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8467

Basic Initiatives influencing our WQ activities since the mid-1990s :

• Development of Numerical “Biocriteria”

- Various Indices of Biotic Integrity (IBIs)

• Statewide Surface Water Assessment Program (SSWAP) 1997 – 2006 - Legal agreement to assess all wadeable surface

waters ~ 86,000 + stream miles

Pennsylvania’s Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Program