Water Quality Assessment in Iowa During 1998 and 1999, Assessment Methodology and Summary Data, 2001

(2001) Water Quality Assessment in Iowa During 1998 and 1999, Assessment Methodology and Summary Data, 2001. Natural Resources, Department of

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Abstract

Section 305(b) of the federal Clean Water Act requires each state to prepare, in even-numbered years, reports on the status of its water quality. Historically, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has prepared new guidelines every two years to assist states in preparation of these reports. For the 1998-1999 Section 305(b) reporting cycle, however, states were directed to use the U.S. EPA guidelines prepared for the previous (1996-1997) biennial reporting period (see Wayland 1999). Thus, the methodology used to determine the status of water quality in Iowa for the 1998-1999 biennial period was taken primarily from U.S. EPA’s Guidelines for Preparation of the Comprehensive State Water Quality Assessments (305(b) Reports) and Electronic Updates: Report Contents and Supplement (U.S. EPA 1997a and 1997b).