National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) Home Page

This home page provides links to NAWQA activities, selected publications, a bibliography, and summaries of current research projects. The NAWQA program is designed to assess historical, current, and future water-quality conditions in representative river basins and aquifers nationwide.

One of the primary objectives of the program is to describe relations between natural factors, human activities, and water quality conditions and to define those factors that most affect water quality in different parts of the Nation. The linkage of water quality to environmental processes is of fundamental importance to water-resource managers, planners, and policy makers. It provides a strong and unbiased basis for better decision making by those responsible for making decisions that affect our water resources, including the United States Congress, Federal, State, and local agencies, environmental groups, and industry.