ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

WORKING TO PROTECT ALABAMA’S ENVIRONMENT

RRESERESERVOIRVOIR WWAATERTER QQUALITYUALITY MMONITONITORINGORING

The Reservoir Water Quality Monitoring Program has monitored thewater quality of Alabama’s lakes/reservoirs since 1990. ADEM staffutilize scientific equipment to monitor water quality continually dur-ing critical, seasonal transitions.

Currently, over 180 sites are monitored with the resultant water qualitydata used to establish water quality standards, such as the recentlydeveloped nutrient criteria standards.

BBEACHEACH AANDND CCOASTOASTALAL AASSESSMENTSSESSMENT MMONITONITORINGORING

The Beach MonitoringProgram was established in1999 to monitor water quali-ty at Alabama’s coastal pub-lic beaches. Today, watersamples are collected a mini-mum of once per week dur-ing the summer swimmingseason and once per monthduring winter at eleven ofAlabama’s most popularpublic beaches. The water samples are analyzed by ADEM and theAlabama Department of Public Health and the analytical results areposted on the Department’s web page at www.adem.state.al.us. Theweb page contains a color coded system (green/yellow/red) to informthe public of the most recent water quality results.

The Department also collects andanalyzes coastal water samples aspart of the Coastal AssessmentMonitoring Program. TheDepartment collects these coastalwater samples as part of the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency’sNational Coastal Assessment project.

Limestone

Colbert

Lawrence MorganMarshall

DeKalbFranklin

Marion Winston Cullman

LamarFayette Walker

BlountEtowah

Cherokee

Pickens Tuscaloosa

Jefferson

St. Clair Calhoun

Cleburne

Shelby

Talladega

Clay Randolph

Greene

Sumter

Bibb

Hale

Madison Jackson

Lauderdale

Perry

Chilton CoosaTallapoosa Chambers

Lee

MarengoDallas

AutaugaElmore

MaconRussell

Wilcox

Lowndes

Montgomery

Bullock

BarbourPike

Crenshaw

Butler

Choctaw

ClarkeMonroe

ConecuhWashington

Mobile Baldwin

EscambiaCovington

CoffeeDale

Henry

Geneva Houston

ADEM Emergency Response Coverage Areas

Working Hours (7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.) After Hours (5:00 p.m. - 7:00 a.m.)

Birmingham - (205) 942-6168 1-800-843-0699

Decatur - (256) 353-1713 1-800-843-0699

Mobile - (251) 450-3400 1-800-843-0699

Montgomery - (334) 260-2700 1-800-843-0699

AAIRIR MMONITONITORINGORING

The Departmentoperates 60 air moni-tors at 36 locationsthroughout Alabama.These air monitorscollect ambient airquality data for avariety of pollutants,including particulatematter, nitrogen diox-ide, sulfur dioxide,carbon monoxide,lead and ozone.

ADEM staff visit the air monitors regularly to perform maintenance andquality control checks.

Data collected by airmonitors is evaluatedand used to assess airquality across the stateand to determine com-pliance with NationalAmbient Air QualityStandards. Additionally,the ozone data is quali-fied by the Departmentwhen issuing ozoneforecasts to large munic-ipal areas during the ozone season. The ozone forecasts allow citizens inthe affected area to adjust their daily routines to minimize exposure andto take steps to reduce ozone formation.

ADEM operates a fullservice environmentallaboratory, capable ofanalyzing drinkingwater and wastewatersamples, soils, sedi-ments, tissue and haz-ardous waste collectedby the Department’sfield staff. The CentralLaboratory is locatedin Montgomery withbranch laboratories inthe Birmingham andMobile Field Offices.

LLABAB SSERERVICESVICES

For more information contact:

Post Office Box 301463Montgomery, Alabama 36130-1463

(334) 271-7700www.adem.state.al.us

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) is responsible for the administration and oversight of numerous environmentalprograms. Included in the administration of these environmental programs is review of permit applications, permitting decisions, inspections andcompliance activities. However, ADEM also performs an extensive variety of monitoring activities to establish environmental standards and docu-ment the effectiveness of environmental programs. This brochure highlights some of the monitoring activities performed by ADEM in its pursuit ofenvironmental quality.

EEMERGENCYMERGENCY RRESPONSEESPONSE

The Department performs emergency response activities to provideguidance and assistance to law enforcement, fire and other first-alertagencies in emergency situations. ADEM staff respond to a widerange of environmental emergencies involving leaks/spills of oil andhazardous materials. Due to the strategic location of ADEM's fouroffices, the Department is capable of delivering a timely response toenvironmental emergencies.

WWAATERTER QQUALITYUALITY MMONITONITORINGORING

The Department iscurrently evaluat-ing three differentmethods to assessthe algal contentof a stream. Algalcontent can be anindicator of excessnutrients in astream, that canlead to nutrientimpairment, lowdissolved oxygenand fish kills. Thethree methods under evaluation include a viewing box with grids, exami-nation/identification of single-cell aquatic plants and analysis of theamount of chlorophyll present in the plant communities.

WWETLANDSETLANDS RRESTESTORAORATIONTION

As part of the wetlandsrestoration program, theDepartment coordinateswith a variety of agenciessuch as the U.S.Environmental ProtectionAgency, the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers and theAlabama Department ofConservation and NaturalResources to identify andevaluate potential wetlandrestoration sites.

Wetlands provide tremendousenvironmental benefits by fil-tering water and providingcritical habitat for a diversevariety of plants and animals.ADEM staff evaluate soilcharacteristics, animal speciesand plant vegetation to ensurerestoration activities willachieve the maximum envi-ronmental benefits.

Compliance sampling inspections areperformed on a routine basis at munici-pal and industrial facilities that holdNational Pollutant DischargeElimination System (NPDES) permits.These comprehensive inspectionsallow Department personnel to docu-ment compliance activities and deter-mine when facilities are in compliance

with the discharge limits of their NPDES permits.

Department inspectors col-lect samples of the treatedwater being discharged witha wide variety of manual andautomated sampling devices.The water samples can beanalyzed for field parameterson site or transported to oneof ADEM's three laboratoriesfor analysis.

FFISHISH AANDND AAQUAQUATICTIC IINSECTNSECT

CCOMMUNITYOMMUNITY AASSESSMENTSSSESSMENTS

Assessments of fish andaquatic insect communi-ties provide indications ofwater quality and theoverall health of streamsegments. These assess-ments are performed inconjunction with specificstudies and involve thecollection of fish and/oraquatic insects.

Additionally, allhabitats present aresampled includingrocks, logs, streambanks and sand sub-strates. Departmentpersonnel employ awide variety of sam-pling equipment toensure representa-tive samples are col-lected.

The collected samples may be evaluated at the stream site,or preserved and transported to the Department's laboratoryfor evaluation. Department personnel evaluate the samplesand apply computer models to interpret the data.

FFISHISH TTISSUEISSUE MMONITONITORINGORING

ADEM hasadministered asystematic FishT i s s u eM o n i t o r i n gProgram formore than tenyears and hascollected sam-ples of fishfrom rivers andlakes through-out Alabama.All fish collected under this program are weighed, measured, assessedfor external abnormalities and analyzed for a wide range of contami-nants that have the potential to bioaccumulate.

Each year ADEM staff col-lect and analyze tissue sam-ples from several hundredfish. Once the fish tissuesamples have been analyzed,the results are submitted tothe Alabama Department ofPublic Health which utilizesthe analytical data to deter-mine the necessity for fishconsumption advisories.

Fish consumption advisories are generally issued for a specific section ofa river or lake and for a specific fish species.

AALGAELGAE AASSESSMENTSSSESSMENTS

GGROUNDWROUNDWAATERTER MMONITONITORINGORING

A diverse scope of groundwater moni-toring activities are performed byADEM personnel including the collec-tion of groundwater samples at land-fills, industrial sites and undergroundstorage tank sites. The Department alsoperforms special groundwater studiesinvolving the collection and analysis ofgroundwater data.

Department staff alsorecord visual observationsat the stream samplinglocations. These visualobservations are combinedwith other data to deter-mine the overall quality ofa specific stream segment.The water quality data col-lected through this pro-

gram allows the Department to establish trends in water quality by com-paring previous data.

CCOMPLIANCEOMPLIANCE EEVVALUAALUATIONSTIONS

Stream segments areroutinely monitored toobtain water qualitydata and to documenttrends in water quality.These monitoringactivities involve thecollection and labora-tory analysis of watersamples for bacteriaand other pollutants,as well as the collec-tion of field data, suchas stream flow rates and temperature.