Learn the Issues

This page shows all of the pages at www.epa.gov that are tagged with Learn the Issues.

  • Rumney Marsh Wetland

    Learn about the Rumney Marsh in Saugus/Revere Massachusetts.

  • Proposed Strategy for San Joaquin River Basin Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment

    A proposed strategy for San Joaquin River Basin Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment was published in 2010, and a Strawman Proposal was developed in 2012 by the Coalition for Urban Rural Environmental Stewardship (CURES), the California Water Resources

  • Indicators: Human Disturbance

    Human disturbance is a measure of the vulnerability of aquatic resources to a variety of harmful human activities such as tree removal, road building, construction near shorelines/streambanks, and artificial hardening of lakeshores with retaining walls.

  • Indicators: Lakeshore Habitat/Riparian Vegetative Cover

    Riparian and lakeshore vegetative cover consist of the vegetation corridor alongside streams, rivers, and lakes. Vegetative cover refers to overhanging or submerged tree limbs, shrubs, and other plants growing along the shore of the waterbody.

  • Indicators: Sediment Toxicity

    Phosphorus, like nitrogen, is a critical nutrient required for all life. Phosphate (PO4), which plays major roles in the formation of DNA, cellular energy, and cell membranes (and plant cell walls). Too much phosphorus can create water quality problems.

  • Indicators: Sediment Mercury

    Sediment mercury is mercury that has become embedded into the bottom substrates of aquatic ecosystems. Mercury is a common pollutant of aquatic ecosystems and it can have a substantial impact on both human and wildlife health.

  • Indicators: Phosphorus

    Phosphorus, like nitrogen, is a critical nutrient required for all life. Phosphate (PO4), which plays major roles in the formation of DNA, cellular energy, and cell membranes (and plant cell walls). Too much phosphorus can create water quality problems.

  • Indicators: Nitrogen

    Nitrogen, like phosphorus, is a critical nutrient required for all life. Nitrogen can occur in rivers and streams, lakes, and coastal waters in several forms including ammonia (NH3), nitrates (NO3), and nitrites (NO2).

  • Indicators: Conductivity

    Conductivity is a measure of the ability of water to pass an electrical current. Because dissolved salts and other inorganic chemicals conduct electrical current, conductivity increases as salinity increases.

  • Indicators: Atrazine

    Atrazine is an herbicide widely used for control of broadleaf and grassy weeds. It is sprayed on row crops such as corn, sorghum and sugarcane, and in some areas is used on residential lawns. It also been used on highway and railroad rights-of-way.

  • Indicators: Zooplankton

    Zooplankton are small, free-floating aquatic microorganisms including crustaceans, rotifers, open water insect larvae, and aquatic mites. The zooplankton community is composed of both primary consumers and secondary consumers.

  • Indicators: Sediment Diatoms

    Diatoms are a type of algae that are typically abundant in marine and freshwater ecosystems. They have inorganic cell walls made up of silica (glass). Diatoms most commonly grow suspended in water, although they can also attach to substrates.

  • Indicators: Phytoplankton

    Phytoplankton are free-floating, microscopic algae that inhabit the sunlit, upper layer of most freshwater and marine environments. They are usually responsible for the color and clarity of lakes, wetlands, rivers, streams and estuaries.

  • Indicators: Fish Assemblage

    Fish assemblage refers to the variety and abundance of fish species in a given waterbody. Fish are sensitive indicators of physical and chemical habitat degradation, environmental contamination, migration barriers, and overall ecosystem productivity.

  • Indicators: Wetland Vegetation (Plant Community)

    Wetland vegetation specifically grows in water or is adapted to a growing in soil that is at least periodically flooded with water. These wetland plants are also referred to as “hydrophytes.”

  • Indicators: Chlorophyll a

    Chlorophyll allows plants (including algae) to photosynthesize, i.e., use sunlight to convert simple molecules into organic compounds. Chlorophyll a is the predominant type of chlorophyll found in green plants and algae.

  • Indicators: Benthic Macroinvertebrates

    Benthic (meaning “bottom-dwelling”) macroinvertebrates are small aquatic animals and the aquatic larval stages of insects. Benthic macroinvertebrates are commonly used as indicators of the biological condition of waterbodies.

  • Administrative Records Public Notice: Winnebago Tribe NE Application - Clean Water Act Eligibility

    Public Notice  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 Notice of Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska’s Supplemental Application to Administer the Clean Water Act Sections 303(c) Water Quality Standards and 401 Certification Programs

  • Pennsylvania Township Gets Results In Approach to Cleaning Streams

    Do-it-yourself approach to watershed cleanup yielding results in Broad Top, Pennsylvania.

  • A Plain English Guide to the EPA Part 503 Biosolids Rule

    This guidance document is not a substitute for the actual rule, but it is intended as a helpful tool for interpretation and implementation of the rule.

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