Alabama Water Quality Information System

— Choose a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) —


	1.-		Are biological criteria good indicators of water quality and watershed health?


	2.-		Are there bacterial source tracking (BST) methodologies that rely on techniques other than DNA fingerprinting of fecal bacteria from different animals?


	3.-		Can the fecal coliform/fecal streptococci (FC/FS) ratio be used to assess whether nonpoint pollution of surface waters in agricultural watersheds comes from fecal contamination by humans or other animals?


	4.-		How can I become involved in EPA's volunteer water monitoring program?


	5.-		How do biological species serve as indicators of pollution level in a stream?


	6.-		How many citizen-based watershed groups are there in the United States?


	7.-		Is it possible to identify the animal species of origin for fecal coliform bacterial contamination of water sources?


	8.-		What aquatic species are used as biological indicator organisms for determining level of surface water quality impairment or general watershed health?


	9.-		What are all the probable sources of fecal contamination in a surface water source?


	10.-		What are the proper handling and storage procedures to preserve fresh water samples for physical, chemical and biological analysis?


	11.-		What happens to water quality monitoring data and where can it be accessed?


	12.-		What is a bioassay?


	13.-		What is bacterial source tracking (BST)?


	14.-		What is biological integrity and how does it relate to water quality and watershed health?


	15.-		What is microbial source tracking (MST)?


	16.-		What is the mathematical model called SWAT and how does it apply to water quality?


	17.-		What is the relationship between watersheds and the hydrologic coding system used by a number of agencies in the United States?


	18.-		Where can I find information for state and national reports on how U.S. waters are impacted by various sources of pollution?

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This website was developed by the ACES Water Quality Team, under the leadership of Dr. James E. Hairston. It is funded, in part, by USDA-CSREES water quality grant support under Section 406 of the Agricultural Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998.