Lower Delaware Water Quality Monitoring Program: Quality Assurance Project Plan

In 1999, the Delaware River Basin Commission began monitoring to characterize the existing water quality of the Lower Non-tidal Delaware River. This monitoring network was established because little data existed to characterize water quality in this reach, which has been included in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. In 1999 a pilot study was conducted, leading to development of a 42-site fixed network that was monitored in 2000. The 2003 monitoring season was the fourth in the five-year effort to define existing water quality and develop water quality management strategies that protect and possibly improve water quality of the Lower Non-tidal Delaware River by maintaining existing water quality and improving it where practical. The mission of the Lower Delaware Water Quality Monitoring Program is to obtain environmental data that: defines the existing water quality of the Lower Non-tidal Delaware River within five years; establishes targets for development of an anti-degradation protection strategy that supports Special Protection Waters management strategies; reports current water quality status and identifies key factors controlling maintenance and improvement of the ecological integrity of the river; augments the water quality, physical, and biological data collection efforts of various federal, state, local, and citizen monitoring agencies; provides support for the determination of abatement priorities for point and non-point sources of pollution; provides a prioritization scheme for tributaries for monitoring and watershed planning purposes; expands ecological knowledge of the Lower Non-tidal Delaware River; and helps to safeguard the health and safety of the river-using public.Document Control Number: DRBC QA2003-001 / July 2003. Revision: 02-GDS