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Why Are Water Quality Standards Important?
[Why
are WQS Important?] [WQS
Review and Revision] [Role
of the Public] [Designated
Uses] [Water
Quality Criteria] [Antidegradation]
[General Policies]
[Indian Tribe Participation]
[WQS Program History]
Water quality standards are important
because they help to protect and restore the quality of the Nation's
surface waters, consistent with the requirements of the Clean
Water Act. Standards help to identify water quality problems
caused by, for example, improperly treated wastewater discharges,
runoff or discharges from active or abandoned mining sites, sediment,
fertilizers, and chemicals from agricultural areas, and erosion
of stream banks caused by improper grazing practices. Standards
also support efforts to achieve and maintain protective water
quality conditions, including:
(1) total maximum daily loads (TMDLs), waste load allocations
(WLAs) for point sources of pollution, and load allocations
(LAs) for non point sources of pollution,
(2) water quality management plans which prescribe the regulatory,
construction, and management activities necessary to meet the
water body goals,
(3) NPDES water quality-based effluent limitations for point
source discharges,
(4) water quality certifications under CWA § 401 for activities
that may affect water quality and that require a federal license
or permit,
(5) reports, such as the reports required under CWA § 305(b),
that document current water quality conditions, and
(6) CWA § 319 management plans for the control of non point
sources of pollution.
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