NWQP Performance Measure #1: Completed water-quality sampling

As a part of the third decadal plan of the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project, the NWQP is working to identify and understand the occurrence and long-term trends of nutrients, sediments, pesticides, and other contaminants in the Nation’s groundwater, streams, and rivers. To do this, the USGS conducts sampling to provide data that are used to support various water-quality assessments and management actions. For example, groundwater sampling is used to evaluate the prevalence of contaminants, including emerging contaminants, and to assess how concentrations of contaminants are changing over time. Surface-water sampling is used to evaluate the effectiveness of management actions intended to remediate degraded ecosystems, harmful algal blooms, and hypoxia, particularly in key landscapes like the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay, and Gulf of Mexico.

In addition to sampling, the USGS supports the National Park Service Water-Quality Partnership (NPS-WQP), a program designed to provide water-quality science to the National Park Service (NPS) as they address a wide range of of water resource management issues in the Nation’s National Parks. Through this program, the USGS works in cooperation with the NPS to conduct studies on water-quality issues throughout the National Parks. This performance measure tracks USGS progress as it completes targeted sampling and studies in support of NAWQA Cycle 3 goals. This figures shows a snapshot of the performance measure history and the 2022 goal aligned with the 2018-2022 DOI Strategic Plan.

*The 2022 Goal assumed level funding from FY 2017 through FY 2022.