Water-Quality Assessment of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama: Physical, Chemical, and Biological Data, 1992-1995
The goal of the ACF River basin study design was to integrate surface-water, ground-water, and biological components where possible so as to be able to document the current quality of the study area, to begin to describe the effects of predominant land uses on that quality, and to lay the foundation for future evaluation of the surface- and ground-water resources. The design focuses primarily on non-point source inputs of nutrients, sediment, and pesticides from agricultural, urban, and forested land uses.
The surface water study design of the ACF River basin was stratified based on physiography and major land uses, and water quality monitoring locations were then chosen to represent predominent land uses at various scales. The monitoring network reflects a nested design starting with a few fixed monitoring sites (integrator sites and integrator sites) a subset of which were intensive monitoring sites, adding a group of comparison sites, and finally a group of sample sites on large tributaries and main stem rivers.Site characteristics of surface-water sites sampled in the ACF
The monitoring network for the ground-water component of the ACF River basin was designed primarily to provide information on occurrence and distribution of a large suite of compounds that can be used to better define problem areas, and questions and issues related to them. The ground-water sites include a combination of monitor and domestic wells, springs, seeps, and subsurface drains. These data are concentrated in the Metropolitan Atlanta area and in the agricultural areas in the coastal plain.Site characteristics of ground-water sites sampled in the ACF
