Stream Condition Index Evaluation
   Florida

Overview
Water & Air assisted the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) in this $4 million project designed to determine whether surface water criterion for dissolved oxygen should be revised and to provide data for Florida's Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) programs. Using stringent quality assurance procedures, Water & Air collected environmental data from 130 of the 342 stations located throughout the state. Water & Air personnel received in-house training by FDEP staff for water and biological sample collection and habitat assessment. Field personnel were audited by FDEP staff to ensure that data and sample collection procedures were consistently applied.

Details

• Field reconnaissance of sampling locations to select site-specific sampling points and develop strategies appropriate to the conditions to install expensive instruments in a secure, safe and scientifically valid manner.
• Quarterly installation of YSI instruments to record water quality data at 15-minute intervals at each station for four days.
• Collection of water quality samples to determine nutrient levels at each station.
• Stream evaluation using Florida's Stream Condition Index methods of stream habitat assessment and collection of benthic macroinvertebrate samples and chemical and physical water column measurements.
• Collection of sediment, periphytic algae, and benthic macroinvertebrate data to evaluate relationships between biological and water quality data.

Results
Water & Air delivered legally defensible water quality and biological data to the State of Florida. FDEP used these data to evaluate and revise surface water quality standards for water bodies in the State. Data were used to supplement and support water resource decision making within Florida's TMDL and NPDES programs and to refine the State's methods for stream condition evaluation requirements in Florida's Quality Assurance Rule. All of these programs maintain or improve water quality in Florida streams, rivers, and lakes for their designated use.