Final 2004 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report
May 9, 2006 The 2006 Integrated Report was approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on May 1, 2006. The 2006 report supersedes the 2004 report. See the 2006 report here.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) Division of Surface Water (DSW) has completed the Ohio 2004 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report. The report indicates the general condition of Ohio's waters and identifies waters that are not meeting water quality goals. Prepared in accordance with federal guidance, the report satisfies the Clean Water Act requirements for both Section 305(b) water quality reports and Section 303(d) lists of impaired waters.
Revisions to the report were made based on public comments and U.S. EPA review, but no changes to the Section 303(d) list of impaired waters were made. The final report, including responses to public comments (Appendix C), is available below.
Section 303(d) TMDL Priority List for 2004
The Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) priority list for 2004, as required by Section 303(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. Section 1313(d), is contained in the Integrated Report in Appendix B.2. The list indicates the waters of Ohio that are currently impaired and may require TMDL development in order to meet water quality standards. The waters are ranked according to level of impairment to help indicate which have the greatest need for TMDL development.
The report describes the procedure that Ohio EPA used to develop the list and indicates which areas have been selected for TMDL development during FFY 2005 through 2006.
U.S. EPA approved Ohio's 2004 Section 303(d) list on May 5, 2004.
How can I download a copy of the report?
The report is available below in Adobe Acrobat format.
Main Text
2004 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report [PDF 1,050K]
Appendices
Appendix A. Supplemental Materials: Consideration of Fish Consumption Advisory Information in Compiling Ohio’s Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters [PDF 24K]. Appendix A consists of:
- Cover page
- Appendix A.1. Calculation of Fish Concentrations from Water Quality Standard Inputs
- Appendix A.2. Mercury Data from 20 Lakes and Rivers in the Lake Erie Basin with Water Body Specific FCAs
- Appendix A.3. List of FCA Waters in U.S. EPA Decision Document, Partial Approval/Disapproval of Ohio’s 2002 303(d) List
Appendix B. Summary Tables of Water Body Conditions, List of Prioritized Impaired Waters, and Monitoring and TMDL Schedules. Appendix B consists of:
Appendix C. Supplemental Materials: Public Involvement and Participation in Compiling Ohio’s Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters [PDF 426K]. Appendix C consists of:
- Cover page
- Appendix C.1. Summary of Listing Recommendations of the Ohio TMDL External Advisory Group
- Appendix C.2. Solicitation for External Water Quality Data, 2004 Integrated Report Project (August 26, 2003)
- Appendix C.3. Web Pages Announcing 2004 IR Preparation
- Appendix C.4. Initial Comments on FCA Methods
- Appendix C.5. Notice of Availability and Request for Comments FWPCA Section 303(d) TMDL Priority List for 2004; List of Newspapers Publishing Notice
- Appendix C.6. Public Comments and Response to Comments
Appendix D. Water Body Assessment Unit Results. Appendix D consists of:
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What's the best way to use the report?
Your approach would depend on your primary interest - a particular area or watershed, a statewide perspective on water quality, or perhaps an interest in TMDL activity.
To locate information on a particular watershed or large river, use the clickable maps below. You can also electronically search the tables (use the "Find" function in Adobe) using the stream name or code.
Appendix D provides a single-page summary on the quality of each of Ohio's large rivers (those with drainage areas greater than 500 square miles), watershed (HUC11) assessment units, and Lake Erie.
Those with an interest in Ohio's response to the Clean Water Act requirements or the TMDL program should start with the report text.
Please note that the report, including all appendices, is approximately 500 pages. Appendix D is 362 pages of that total. The main text is 64 pages. Readers may want to print some parts of the report and download others. One advantage of reviewing in electronic format (downloaded or Web) is the ability to electronically search for specific points of interest.
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What does the report say about my watershed?
Appendix D summarizes the information available for watershed assessment units (11-digit HUC scale) and large river assessment units (draining more than 500 sq mi). Individual pages from Appendix D of the 2004 report are available via clickable maps:
Additional information for many areas may be available in detailed water quality reports, available on the Biological and Water Quality Reports page.
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What's new in the 2004 report?
The 2004 report contains a comprehensive look at how the State's protocol to issue Fish Consumption Advisories (FCAs) relates to the human health single route exposure water quality criteria for PCBs, mercury and a few other chemicals. This allowed an analysis of where FCAs warrant a finding that Water Quality Standards are exceeded, thus placing some FCA waters in Category 5 (impaired and needing a TMDL for the pollutant). The 2002 report did not consider FCA information, but did indicate that the issue would be addressed in this year's report.
A greatly expanded bacteria data base (including more than 25,000 monthly operating report records) and a new evaluation methodology was applied to assess the recreation use attainment question. Lake Erie beach bacteria data were also examined. Thus, many more waters were evaluated compared to the 2002 report. Data were available to assess approximately half of the State's waters for recreation use condition: for every watershed attaining the primary contact recreation use, there are two watersheds that are impaired.
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Are more waters listed in Category 5 (the 303(d) list)?
Yes. More thorough evaluation methods and more available data on Fish Consumption Advisories (FCAs) and bacteria in surface waters caused an increase in the number of Category 5 waters (those needing a TMDL). More watersheds and large rivers are now listed in Category 5 because we have included information about FCAs and have accessed more bacteria data.
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Comparison of 303(d) listing results for Ohio’s inland waters
2002 vs. 2004 Integrated Report
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|
Category
|
Number of
Watersheds
|
Number of
Large Rivers
|
|
2002
|
2004
|
2002
|
2004
|
|
1 Attaining all WQS
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
|
2 Attaining some WQS
|
11
|
7
|
5
|
1
|
|
3 Insufficient data
|
105
|
75
|
1
|
0
|
|
4 Impaired, no TMDL needed
|
9
|
6
|
2
|
0
|
|
5 Impaired, TMDL needed
|
205
|
242
|
15
|
21
|
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What is the condition of aquatic life uses in Ohio's waters?
Overall, very similar to conditions reported in 2002. See more information about the aquatic life use attainment goal of 80% by 2010 and the results from the 2002 Integrated Report. The 2004 Integrated Report indicates a slight increase in watershed "full attainment" score (1.5 units) and 23 additional miles of large rivers attaining standards. The figures below depict the latest statistics concerning attainment of aquatic life uses in Ohio's watersheds and large rivers.
| Aquatic Life Use Attainment - 2004 |
Average Watershed Assessment Unit Score
in Full, Partial and Non Attainment |
Percent of Large River Miles
in Full, Partial and Non Attainment |
 |
 |
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Which specific waters were added or removed from Category 5?
In the 2004 report, five waters, or assessment units, were removed from Category 5 and 42 waters were added to Category 5. In addition, six large river segments were added to Category 5. See these changes [PDF 52K].
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For more information, contact:
Trinka Mount
DSW Modeling & Assessment Section
trinka.mount@epa.state.oh.us
(614) 644-2140