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Water Quality Monitoring
Related Resources
Water Quality Monitoring is an essential part of our environmental protection and restoration. Most of the information used by EPA to manage water quality is collected and assessed by States and Tribes. Some research is undertaken by Federal and non-governmental organizations. The following information is specific to Region 5.
On this page:
- Water quality monitoring studies, workplans and activities
- Volunteer Monitoring
- State Monitoring Programs
- Fish Advisories
- Contacts
Water quality monitoring studies, workplans and activities
- Surveys of the Nation's Waters
EPA and its state, tribal, federal and other partners have been implementing a series of surveys of the quality of the nation’s waters. These surveys periodically generate statistically-valid and environmentally relevant reports on the condition of the nation’s water resources. Region 5 largely particpated in the sampling of local waters for these surveys.- Coastal Waters
- Rivers and Streams
- Lakes
- National Lakes Assessment - Here you will find the final assessment report, factsheets, quality assurance plans and other information.
- EPA, states, tribes, and others in our area partcipated in sampling efforts as part of the National Lakes Assessment. View map of sites sampled in Region 5 (PDF) (1p, 299KB) and list of the lake survey sites in Region 5 (PDF) (6pp, 24KB).
- Indiana - Survey of the Nation's Lakes
- Michigan - Michigan's Role in the National Lake Survey
- Minnesota - National Lake Assessment Project information
- Ohio - Lake Survey Information (after clicking the link, scroll down on the page)
- Wisconsin - Lake Tides newsletter article (PDF) (15pp, 458 KB)
- Data - Chemical, biological and habitat data for the national lake survey is accessible through EPA's national STORET warehouse when available. Additional data collected by individual states may be accessible through their own data systems or websites.
See also: National Water Quality Reports
- State Bioassessment and Ambient Monitoring Programs: Inital Evaluation and Review, MBI
- Technical Report (PDF) (38pp, 2MB)
- Appendix A - Region V State Monitoring & Assessment Program Overview
- Appendix B - Important Concepts and Elements of an Adequate State Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Program
- Appendix C - Elements of a State Water Monitoring and Assessment Program
- Regional Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Projects (REMAP)
- All Recent and Current REMAPs
- Report on the Regional Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program Study of Wadeable Streams in the Driftless Area Ecoregion in Western Wisconsin (PDF) (81pp, 1.29MB) - EPA 600/R-06/165 November 2006. This report describes the results of a REMAP agreement awarded to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to compare random and modified-random sampling designs.
- A Biological Assessment of the Large Rivers of the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River Basins in Region 5
- Project Proposal (19pp, 264KB)
- Development of a Probability-Based Monitoring and Assessment for Select Large Rivers Within US EPA Region 5: Final Report (PDF) (100pp, 3.4MB) and Appendices (74pp, 6.0MB) - This report describes the results of a REMAP project to survey selected large river tributaries to the Upper Mississippi and Ohio Rivers within Region 5. Results included examining the intra- and inter-river variability of landuse patterns that may influence the condition of the same large river resources. The Report also discusses the development of a regional multimetric index called the Fish Asemblage Quality Index. Later uses of the information may include developing and refining reference conditions for non-wadeable, large river resources on a regional basis. This is an important precursor to biocriteria development.
- All Recent and Current REMAPs
- National Nonpoint Source Watershed Project Studies
State monitoring programs in Region 5
Volunteer Monitoring in Region 5
All of the States in Region 5 have volunteer monitoring programs. In many cases, the data are collected using specific quality assurance/quality control techniques that allow the states to use this valuable data in water quality assessment reports.
Region 5 is working in a number of areas to provide additional support for States and local organizations interested to provide data on water resources. For more information on Region 5's volunteer water monitoring activities, contact Pete Jackson (jackson.peter@epa.gov). Below you will find links to volunteer programs in your state. Information about your specific watershed can be found by using EPA’s Surf Your Watershed site.
- Illinois Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program
- Indiana Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program
- Indiana Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program: Hoosier Riverwatch
- Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps)
- Michigan Cooperative Lakes Monitoring
- Minnesota Citizen Stream-Monitoring Program
- Minnesota Citizen Lake Monitoring Program
- Ohio Stream Quality Monitoring Project, Ohio Department of Natural Resources
- Ohio Surface Water Volunteer Monitoring Program, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
- Ohio Citizen Lake Awareness and Monitoring Program, Ohio Lake Management Society
- Wisconsin Citizen-Based Stream Monitoring:
- Wisconsin Citizen Lake Monitoring Network
Region 5 Fish Advisories
- Illinois Department of Public Health
- Indiana State Department of Health
- Michigan Department of Community Health
- Minnesota Department of Health
- Ohio Sport Fish Health Advisory
- Wisconsin Department of Health Services
Contacts
- If you have questions or comments about this page, please use the "contact us" links at the very top or bottom of this web page.
- Use the Region 5 Experts List to find contacts by specific topics such as "Water Quality", "Beaches", etc.
- The EPA Employee Directory can also be used to find contact information on EPA employees if you know their name.