TECHNICAL PAPERS
Jun 13, 2003

Implications of Applying Statistically Based Procedures for Water Quality Assessment

Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 129, Issue 4

Abstract

Assessment of water quality conditions as required by Section 303d of the Clean Water Act must rely on limited monitoring data. Because data are limited there will always be the potential for error when deciding if water quality standards are being met. However, the informed use of statistical procedures makes it possible to describe and manage these errors. We make the case for using such procedures in water quality assessment and draw the implications for the monitoring data for water quality standard setting, arguing that standard setting must accommodate the limits of the monitoring data and the statistical procedures that will be used for water quality assessment.

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Go to Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 129Issue 4July 2003
Pages: 330 - 336

History

Received: Aug 28, 2002
Accepted: Oct 9, 2002
Published online: Jun 13, 2003
Published in print: Jul 2003

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Authors

Affiliations

Leonard Shabman
Resident Scholar, Resources for the Future, 1616 P Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.
Eric Smith
Professor, Dept. of Statistics, 211 Hutcheson Hall, Virginia Tech., Blacksburg, VA 24061.

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