Water Quality Research

	Choose One: All Breidenbach Center Experimental Stream... Robert S. Kerr Center Test & Evaluation Edison Envir. Center

The mission of EPA’s Water Quality research is to protect human health and the environment in support of the Clean Water Act by providing the methods, approaches, and tools needed to assess, restore, and protect aquatic systems and provide measurable improvements in water quality.

This research focuses on particular aquatic ecosystem stressors that EPA most often cites as causing impairments; these stressors include embedded and suspended sediment, nutrients, pathogens, and pathogen indicators. To address these and other issues, the research has the following three long term goals:

Water Quality Protection

Water quality protection research involves the development and application of water quality criteria for protecting and restoring the biological, physical, and chemical integrity of water resources. EPA scientists are developing these criteria in order to address human health and aquatic life risks associated with pathogens, nutrients, and emerging contaminants exposures, occurring either separately or in combinations.

Watershed Management

Watershed management research provides tools and expertise to:

• Diagnose and predict the causes of water quality impairment
• Develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)
• Select watershed management measures, apply them, and evaluate their effectiveness

The watershed approach for protecting aquatic ecosystems and human health has been important since it was described in 1991. This approach is more effective and efficient at addressing water quality problems, as opposed to regulating individual pollutants, pollutant sources, or independent regulatory or nonregulatory program implementation. Large-scale watershed research has been conducted through the initiation of ecosystem-based programs (e.g., Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, Clean Lakes, and National Estuaries programs).

Source Characterization and Control

Source control management research results in the techniques and tools to characterize, control, and manage sources of water quality impairment. A source of impairment is any activity, facility, structure, or other influence that creates the potential degradation of water quality or aquatic, estuarine, or marine ecosystems. Source control management changes the characteristics of a source of impairment; this helps to prevent, reduce, or eliminate detrimental effects.

These three goals are intended to produce research contributions that will lead to the preservation and restoration of the quality of our water resources. The contributions include:

• Predicting wildlife population risks
• Using clay to control harmful algal blooms
• Assessing impact of harmful algal blooms
• Assessing land application of biosolids
• Serving small and decentralized water and wastewater systems through technology, management, and decision-support tools