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National Water Quality Assessment Program-- The Albemarle-Pamlico Drainage
Open-File Report 91-156
By O.B. Lloyd, C.R. Barnes, and M.D.
Woodside
Abstract
In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began to implement
a full-scale National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program.
Long-term goals of the NAWQA program are to describe the status
and trends in the quality of a large, representative part of the
Nation's surface- and ground-water resources and to provide a sound, scientific
understanding of the primary natural and human factors affecting the
quality of these resources. In meeting these goals, the program will
produce
a wealth of water quality information that will be useful to
policy makers
and managers at the national, State, and local levels.
Study-unit investigations constitute a major component of the
NAWQA program, forming the principal building blocks on which
national-level assessment activities are based. The 60 study-unit
investigations that make up the program are hydrologic systems that
include parts of most major river basins and aquifer systems. These study
units
cover areas of 1,200 to more than 65,000 square miles and
incorporate
about 60 to 70 percent of the Nation's water use and population
served
by public water supply. In 1991, the Albemarle-Pamlico drainage
was
among the first 20 NAWQA study units selected for study under the
full-scale implementation plan.
The Albemarle-Pamlico drainage study will examine the physical,
chemical, and biological aspects of water quality issues in a
coordinated
investigation of surface water and ground water in the
Albemarle-Pamlico drainage basin. The quantity and quality of discharge from the
Albemarle-Pamlico drainage basin contribute to some water quality problems
in the
biologically sensitive waters of Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. A
retrospective analysis of existing water quality data will precede
a 3-year
period of intensive data-collection and analysis activities. The
data
resulting from this study and the improved understanding of
important
processes and issues in the upstream part of the study unit will
enhance
understanding of the quality of water in Albemarle-Pamlico Sounds,
the
second largest estuarine system in the United States.
Citation:
Lloyd, O.B., Jr., Barnes, C.R., and Woodside, M.D., 1991, National Water-Quality Assessment Program--The Albemarle-Pamlico drainage: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 91-156, 2 p.
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