Are data quality objectives (DQOs) required for ambient monitoring?
Yes. Monitoring and assessment activites funded under various sections of the Clean Water Act are intended to support decision-making for environmental management. The uncertainty associated with conclusions drawn from each project must be understood and limited to an appropriate extent to facitilitate use of the information for decision-making. Example applications of the DQO process to ambient monitoring studies or programs are available in Design of Water Quality Monitoring Systems (Ward et al. 1990; Van Nostrand Reinhold). The Watershed Management Section is currently developing additional examples.
