What is NAWQA? How many other NAWQA studies are there and where?
NAWQA is an acronym for National Water-Quality Assessment. NAWQA is a National program in which USGS scientists collect and interpret data about water chemistry, hydrology, land use, stream habitat, and aquatic life in more than 50 river basins and aquifer systems (called Study Units) covering all 50 states. Because the same sample-collection procedures and methods are used in each Study Unit, water-quality results in different states, regions, land-use settings, ecoregions, and aquifer types across the Nation can be compared. Data from the NAWQA studies are used by local, state, and Federal agencies to manage our Nations water resources. More information about the NAWQA program and specific Study Units are at http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/.
