EPA Research Partner Support Story: Stream monitoring network
Partners: Depts. of Environmental Protection (KY, MA, ME, NJ, PA and WV); Depts. of Environmental Management (AL and RI); CT Dept. of Energy & Environmental Protection; DE Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Control; Depts. of Natural Resources (GA, MD and Red Lake Nation (tribal)); MA Dept. of Fish & Game; NH Dept. of Environmental Services; Depts. of Environmental Conservation (NY and VT); Depts. of Environmental Quality (NC and VA); SC Dept. of Health & Environmental Control; TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation; VA Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries; Susquehanna River Basin Commission; TN Valley Authority
Challenge: Develop a baseline monitoring network to detect long-term trends
Resource: Technical support to states and tribes through workshops and stream monitoring network development, in collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Geological Survey
Project Period: 2012 – Present
EPA ORD is working with regional offices, states, tribes, river basin commissions and other entities to establish Regional Monitoring Networks (RMNs) for freshwater wadeable streams. The objectives of the RMNs are to collect long-term biological, thermal, hydrologic, physical habitat and water chemistry data to document baseline conditions across sites and detect long-term changes. Consistent methods are being used to increase the comparability of data, minimize biases and variability, and ensure that the data meet data quality objectives. Continuous sensors are being employed when possible. RMN surveys build on existing state and tribal bioassessment efforts with annual sampling of a limited number of sites that can be pooled at a regional level.
“As an interstate agency, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) certainly recognizes the value of the regional partnership EPA has assembled to address the need for collecting the data necessary for detecting changes to water quality and aquatic life communities over time, especially as it relates to any regional trends that may result from climate change effects. The establishment of an effective regional network is a bigger task than any single agency can undertake given the resources involved, and EPA’s staff provided the needed leadership to establish and guide the partnership, as well as the scientific expertise on the study methods for characterizing any future changing conditions.” – SRBC Executive Director Andrew Dehoff
Pooling data enables more robust regional analyses and improves the ability to detect trends over shorter time periods. The collaborations across states, tribes and other entities resulted in the development of RMNs, some of which have collected data since 2012. Recently, EPA Regions 1, 2, 3 and 5, in coordination with their states and tribes, began developing RMNs for lakes and wetlands with the same objectives as the stream RMNs. EPA is also working to expand the Wetland RMN in Regions 1, 2, 3, and 5 and continues to develop the Flow Photo Explorer in collaboration with USGS, adding imagery from different stream types as well as lakes and wetlands. Additionally, EPA is working on an Interagency Agreement with the National Park Service to conduct thermal tolerance analyses for their data in their Eastern Region.
RMN data can be used for many purposes, over short and long-term timeframes. These applications include informing water quality and biological criteria development and protection planning priorities, refining lists of biological, thermal and hydrologic indicators, and detecting trends in commonly used water quality and biological indicators. The RMN data also are important for detecting climate change effects in the context of biomonitoring. There are a number of climate change projections that are relevant to aquatic life condition, including increasing temperatures and changing frequency and magnitude of extreme precipitation events and frequency of summer low flow events. Managers will be able to use the monitoring data to help inform adaptive management. Read the final report on Regional Monitoring Networks (RMNs) to Detect Changing Baselines in Freshwater Wadeable Streams.