WATER QUALITY STANDARDS

GROUNDWATER QUALITY STANDARDS

The DEQ-WQP is preparing draft numeric and narrative groundwater quality standards under the Groundwater Quality Ordinance. The purpose of the groundwater quality standards will be to: 1) prepare discharge permits, 2) determine when groundwater contamination has occurred, and 3) determine restoration levels. 

SURFACE WATER QUALITY STANDARDS

Surface water quality standards are the foundation of water quality-based pollution control programs and is the cornerstone of the Clean Water Act. The water quality standards are goals intended to protect the Community’s surface waters and improve the quality of beneficial uses like fish and aquatic life, wildlife, agricultural, industrial, and recreational uses.

Surface water quality standards under the Clean Water Act are approved in a two step process. The Community has submitted and is requesting approval from the EPA for the first step which is a demonstration that the Community will have the capability to implement a standards program and meets other federal criteria.

The second part is approval of the standards. The standards document contains the water bodies that the Community desires to protect, the uses of each surface water, numeric and narrative criteria to protect those uses, and regulatory language on how the standards would be implemented. The standards will be implemented first as an ordinance before submittal to the EPA for approval under the Clean Water Act.