Produced by the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources

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December 2000

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Preface/Acknowledgments

Table of Contents

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PREFACE

This Maryland water monitoring strategy report was developed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) with input from the Maryland Water Monitoring Council on certain topics. As part of the State's water quality management program, this report is focused on agency water monitoring efforts to address key issues identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency's monitoring strategy guidance (US Environmental Protection Agency, 1984). The existing, overlapping monitoring framework of unique and common goals, media, observation scales, field and laboratory methods, data management, analyses, evaluation, and shared uses of information are described herein. Other aspects of the State's water quality management programs include the State's Continuing Planning Process for water quality management (MD Dept. Environment, 1999a), Quality Management Plans (MD Dept. Environment, 1999b; MD Dept. Natural Resources, 1999a), Nonpoint Source and Coastal Zone Management Plans (MD Dept. Natural Resources, 1999b) and biennial Section 305(b) reports (MD Dept. Natural Resources, 1999a).

This report meets two specific goals: (1) to update the State's existing monitoring strategy as a requirement of the US Environmental Protection Agency's regulations addressing water management plans (Section 106(e) of the Clean Water Act (33 USC 1256(e)) prohibits the Administrator from making Section 106 grants to any state that has not provided or is not carrying out a water quality monitoring program for use in compiling the 305(b) report) and (2) provide a baseline for an expanded Statewide water monitoring strategy that is being developed with assistance from the Maryland Water Monitoring Council. It is expected that this Statewide strategy will be an evolving document that will report on water monitoring efforts and identify specific processes to coordinate these efforts and integrate information. This enhanced strategy will define the framework of a distributed, but integrated and coordinated water monitoring effort in Maryland by federal, interstate and local government agencies, quasi-governmental groups, citizens, private and public corporations, and academia. It is expected that the first full report of this strategy will be completed in 2001.
 

 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This monitoring strategy report was developed with assistance of staff from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources' Resource Assessment Service and Chesapeake and Coastal Watershed Service and the Maryland Department of the Environment's Technical and Regulatory Services and Water Management Administrations. Comments received from citizen monitoring groups and members of the Maryland Water Monitoring Council, its standing committees and the ad hoc Programmatic Coordination Committee are greatly appreciated.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION :	Rationale for an updated strategy Maryland's water monitoring strategy report A future approach to a Statewide water monitoring strategy
GOALS/OBJECTIVES :	Maryland's water monitoring agencies Water monitoring goals
SAMPLE DESIGN :	Fixed site approach Probability-based approach Maryland’s watershed approach Scale
MARYLAND’S WATER RESOURCES AND MONITORING PROGRAMS	Non-tidal rivers and streams CORE/Trend program Maryland Biological Stream Survey Watershed monitoring for water quality impairment determination and TMDL development NPDES point source permit monitoring NPDES permit compliance monitoring NPDES pretreatment monitoring NPDES stormwater monitoring Stream gauging network Fish kill investigations Algal bloom response program Drinking water program Source water protection program Finished water protection program Tissue monitoring program
Estuarine rivers and embayments	Chesapeake Bay monitoring program Coastal Bays monitoring program Harmful Algal Bloom monitoring program Pfiesteria investigations - water quality and fisheries Lower Eastern Shore pollutant input monitoring program Shellfish monitoring program Tissue monitoring Fish kill investigations Dredge activity monitoring program
Lakes and reservoirs	Drinking water source water protection program Fish kill investigations Tissue monitoring program
Ocean	Shellfish monitoring program
Wetlands
Ground water	Waste monitoring programs Federal “Superfund” programs State Superfund program Storage tank monitoring programs Source water protection program Maryland ground water quality network Solid waste facility ground water monitoring program
PROGRAM COORDINATION	Communication Meetings Maryland Water Monitoring Council Monitoring reports
Planning	Continuing Planning Process Water Monitoring Strategy
Quality assurance/quality control
Resource management	Resource sharing Volunteer monitoring
Data management
Data access/sharing	Chesapeake Information System STORET Data requests/transfer
PROGRAM EVALUATION	Monitoring program evaluation Agency program evaluation
REFERENCES CITED
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES REVIEWED
ABBREVIATIONS
TABLES
Table 1. Selected Maryland agency mission statements and water-related goals
Table 2. Extent of stream miles by reach order in Maryland
FIGURES
Figure 1. Role of monitoring within a water management framework
Figure 2. Role of water monitoring within a universe of uses/needs
Figure 4. Stream drainage network in Maryland
Figure 3. Maryland's multi-layered approach to comprehensive water monitoring
Figure 5. Estuarine waters in Maryland
Figure 6. Significant, publicly-owned impoundments in Maryland
Figure 7. Maryland's ocean coastline
Figure 8. Tidal and nontidal wetlands in Maryland
Figure 9. Coastal Plain aquifers and upland geological formations in Maryland

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updated 1/30/03

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