Landscape Architect Articles

State of U.S. Coastal Waters and Great Lakes03-01-16 | News

State of U.S. Coastal Waters and Great Lakes
National Coastal Condition Assessment 2010

The condition of the nation's coastal waters are charted here for the four National Coastal Condition Assessment indices: biological quality; water quality; sediment quality; and ecological fish tissue quality. Water quality is rated good in 36% of coastal and Great Lakes near shore waters, fair in 48%, and poor in 14% based on the water quality index. Components of the water quality index include phosphorus, nitrogen, water clarity, chlorophyll a, and dissolved oxygen. The most widespread of these stressors is phosphorus (rated poor in 21% of waters). Phosphorus can enter coastal waters from sewage and fertilizer runoff and result in large algal blooms, increased levels of chlorophyll a, and reduced water clarity and dissolved oxygen levels. Of the five regions, the Gulf Coast has the highest percentage of waters rated poor for water quality (24%). Source: U.S. EPA/NCA 2010

The EPA has just released its National Coastal Condition Assessment 2010 (NCCA 2010) https://tinyurl.com/h4p2rgq. This 129-page report is the fifth in a series of reports assessing the condition of the coastal waters of the United States, including the Great Lakes, estuaries and coastal embayment waters. It is part of the National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS), a series of statistically based surveys designed to provide the public and decision makers with nationally consistent and representative information on the condition of all the nation's waters.

NCCA 2010 answers such questions as: What is the condition of the nation's coastal waters, and is that condition getting better or worse? What is the extent of the stressors affecting them? This report is based on an analysis of indicators of ecological condition and key stressors in the coastal waters of the Northeast, Southeast, Gulf of Mexico, West, and Great Lakes regions of the conterminous U.S. These waters are enormously varied and include such remarkable and diverse resources as Narragansett Bay; Chesapeake Bay; subtropical waters of Biscayne Bay and Tampa Bay; San Francisco Bay and Puget Sound; and the near shore waters of the Great Lakes, the largest expanse of fresh surface water on earth.

"The latest science confirms we must keep paying close attention to our coastal waters, reduce the pollutants that are harming water quality, and protect those areas still in good condition," said Joel Beauvais, EPA deputy assistant administrator for water.

The EPA completed this assessment in partnership with 30 state agencies, plus the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Park Service. A team of contributors led by Treda Grayson, EPA program manager, wrote the report.