Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Ambient Water Quality Monitoring Program

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Vermont Agency of Natural ResourcesAmbient
Water Quality Monitoring Program

• Neil Kamman, Environmental Scientist VI
• VT Dept. of Env. Conservation Water Quality
  Division

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Water Quality Monitoring in Vermont

• VTANR Structure
• The VT Water Quality Standards
• VTs Water Quality Monitoring Program Strategy
• Program Design and Highlights

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VT ANR Structure
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• Lakes/ponds, rivers, wetlands
• Groundwater
• Wastewater and stormwater compliance

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Reorganization of VTANR

• Groundbreaking restructuring of ANR functions
• Opportunity for integrated coordination of the VT
  water quality monitoring program across multiple
  centers

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Vermont Water Quality Standards

• Administered by the VT Water Resources Panel
• VTANR provides technical services to the Panel in
  the derivation and implementation of WQS
• Panel holds legal authority to establish and
  modify WQS and classifications
• VTANR carries out assessment, listing, and TMDL
  functions using WQS
• VT Env. Court adjudicates legal issues regarding
  application of WQS

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Vermont Water Quality Standards

• Collection of numeric and narrative standards
• Tiered Aquatic Life Use gradient is written into
  the classification system of VWQS

Examples from VTWQS Class specificity Narrative standards Numeric criteria
Nutrients Y Y Y
DO Y Y Y
Turbidity Y Y Y
Toxics N N Y
Biotic integrity Y Y Y
Standard no toxics in toxic amounts language
does apply
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Status of biocriteria in VT
Program support? Resource ? Legal needs (listing, permitting, etc.) Assessment needs (weight-of-evidence w/in listing and assessment process) Under develop-ment
Wadeable streams X X
Lakes X X
Non-wadeable rivers X
Wetlands x
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VT Water Quality Monitoring Program Strategy

• Follows EPA 10 Elements guidance
• Issued for period 2005-2015
• Provides architecture for monitoring, assessment,
  listing, and data archiving activities
• Articulates monitoring designs to meet two major
  goals

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VT WQ Mon. Program Strategy

• Goal 1 Predict and monitor the condition of
  Vermonts aquatic and wetland resources to
• identify emerging problems
• provide information essential to protecting,
  maintaining and/or restoring the integrity and
  use of these resources
• achieve comprehensive monitoring coverage of all
  Vermont waters
• identify water quality conditions, impairments,
  causes, and sources and,
• evaluate the success of current policies and
  programs.

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VT WQ Mon. Program Strategy

• Goal 2 Communicate, collaborate and coordinate
  with organizations, agencies, and the general
  public to
• increase public knowledge of and involvement in
  water resource monitoring
• promote efficient and effective monitoring and
  assessment programs and
• collect useful data to supplement state
  monitoring and assessment programs.

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Program highlights

• Split-design incorporating targeted and
  probability-based approaches
• Balanced resource allocation to lakes and rivers
  assessment that retains flexibility
• Standardized methods (field and laboratory)
• Development of monitoring systems for wetlands
• Focus on partnerships with other organizations
• Program is very thin on automated obs. systems
• Total resource commitment 13FTE within VTDEC,
  not including temporary technician services

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Rivers and streams

• Ambient biomonitoring program
• Active since lt1980
• gt1,400 sites within network
• Annual target of 150 sites using standard
  protocols
• Rotating Basin Assessment
• Five-year cycle of probability-based sites
• Initially implemented in conjunction with the
  Natl Wadeable Streams Assessment
• Provides an assessment of statewide stream
  biological attainment, with confidence estimates
• Stream Geomorphic Assessment Program
• Major initiative to understand physical stream
  processes
• Hundreds of reaches characterized since 2003
• Geomorphic assessment is now a pre-requisite to
  receipt of CWA 319 remediation funds from VT

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Lakes and ponds

• Spring Nutrient and Lake Assessment Programs
• gt100 lakes assessed annually
• gt700 stations within network
• Lake Champlain Long-term Monitoring Program
• Major monitoring initiative aimed at supporting
  Vermonts Clean and Clear Water Action Program
• REMAP Mercury Survey (1998) and National Lake
  Survey (on-going)
• 50-lake probability surveys
• Provide an assessment of statewide lake
  conditions and use attainment with confidence

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Wetlands and groundwater

• Development of methods for wetlands biological
  assessment
• General groundwater monitoring for support of
  community drinking water systems (DEC-Water
  Supply Division)
• Monitoring of radionuclides, arsenic, and
  groundwater quantity in support of non-community
  drinking water use

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Volunteer-based monitoring

• Vermont Lay Lakes Monitoring Program
• 1977 to present
• gt80 lakes / Lake Champlain stations monitored for
  nutrients and chlorophyll-a by citizens
  (longest-term volunteers have given 25 years of
  service)
• LaRosa Environmental Partnerships
• 2003 to present
• Competitive program to provide laboratory
  services to watershed organizations
• 29 groups supported since 2003, 18 active in 2007
• Generated gt29,000 records of QAd data from gt250
  sites statewide

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Important partnerships

• VTANR LaRosa Environmental Laboratory
• US Geological Survey
• USEPA Region 1, OWOW, and ORD
• University of VT
• VT State Colleges
• Numerous lake and watershed associations
• Schools

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Data management

• Data management systems include in-house sequel
  or MSAccess-based repositories, and a non-node
  link to Storet (WQX by our existing node in
  evaluation presently)
• Current database in excess of 700,000 records of
  physical, biological, or chemical datapoints
• Some web-based reporting available (lakes)
• VTANR initiative underway to modernize data
  archiving within a new Enterprise system
• VTANR initiative to develop automated
  field?office data streams using remote computing

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There is much, much more

• Assessment and listing processes
• TMDL development and implementation
• Gov. Douglas Clean and Clear Initiative
• Monitoring within the remediation context
• Hazardous sites monitoring/characterizations

WWW.VTWATERQUALITY.ORG WWW.VERMONT.GOV/CLEANANDCL
EAR

• VT has a flexible program to adapt to new issues

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