ABSTRACT

Reliable, cost-effective, and defensible environmental decisions depend highly on the quality of results gathered during the monitoring and data collection processes. An effective water quality monitoring program is not just about collecting samples, generating results in the laboratory, and tabulating them for data reporting and analysis purposes; it takes careful planning, proper training and communication, performance tracking, and adaptive implementation to help ensure that collected data are useful for the project. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and various state environmental regulatory agencies set standards, provide guidance, and disseminate information to maintain scientific data integrity and maintain consistency.