Assessment of Interstate Streams in the Susquehanna River Basin. Monitoring Report No. 12, July 1, 1997, to June 30, 1998

摘要

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) used a simple water quality index (WQI) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPAs) Rapid Bioassessment Protocol III (RBP III) to assess the chemical water quality, biological conditions, and physical habitat of 29 sample sites in the Interstate Streams Water Quality Network from July 1, 1997 to June 30, 1998. Only 34 out of 2,329 parameter observations exceeded water quality standards. Assessment results indicate that approximately 20 percent of the sites supported nonimpaired biological communities. Water quality impacts in the New York-Pennsylvania border streams were mostly from metals, while Pennsylvania- Maryland border sites suffered from high nutrient levels. A Seasonal Kendall Test was performed to determine trends and their magnitude for 1986- 1998. Overall, decreasing trends were found for total ammonia, total phosphorus, and total iron. A Pearson Product Moment Correlation was performed on WQI, RBP III score, and physical habitat score. There was a significant (p