Skip Links

USGS - science for a changing world

Fact Sheet 2015–3020

National Water-Quality Assessment Program

The Pacific Northwest Stream Quality Assessment

By Peter C. VanMetre, Jennifer L. Morace, and Rich Sheibley

Thumbnail of and link to report PDF (448 KB)Summary

In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program is assessing stream quality in the Pacific Northwest. The goals of the Pacific Northwest Stream Quality Assessment (Pacific Northwest study) are to assess the quality of streams in the region by characterizing multiple water-quality factors that are stressors to aquatic life and to evaluate the relation between these stressors and biological communities. The effects of urbanization and agriculture on stream quality for the Puget Lowlands and Willamette Valley are the focus of this regional study. Findings will provide the public and policymakers with information regarding which human and environmental factors are the most critical in affecting stream quality and, thus, provide insights about possible approaches to protect or improve the health of streams in the region.

The Pacific Northwest study will be the third regional study by the NAWQA program, and it will be of similar design and scope as the first two—the Midwest in 2013 and the Southeast in 2014 (Van Metre and others, 2012, 2014).

First posted April 1, 2015

For additional information, contact:
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
U.S. Geological Survey
2630 Fanta Reed Road
La Crosse, Wisconsin 54603
(608) 783-6451
http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/

Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF). For best results viewing and printing PDF documents, it is recommended that you download the documents to your computer and open them with Adobe Reader. PDF documents opened from your browser may not display or print as intended. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge. More information about viewing, downloading, and printing report files can be found here.


Suggested citation:

VanMetre, P.C., Morace, J.L., and Sheibley, Rich, 2015, The Pacific northwest stream quality assessment: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2015–3020, 2 p., https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20153020.

ISSN 2327-6916 (print)

ISSN 2327-6932 (online)




Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

Take Pride in America logo USA.gov logo U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/fs/2015/3020/index.html
Page Contact Information: GS Pubs Web Contact
Page Last Modified: Tuesday, 29-Nov-2016 18:34:37 EST