Water Quality
Water has been called the “universal solvent” because of its amazing ability to dissolve or suspend and then transport all sorts of things—things like metals, acids and bases, bacteria, all sorts of wastes, and so on.
Monitoring water quality is important to us for many reasons. We use water quality data to ensure that the water we drink is safe and also to determine if the outflow from wastewater treatment plants is safe for the environment.
The quality of the water in our streams, lakes and rivers is monitored not just for its own sake, but also because water quality is one of our best indicators of overall environmental quality.
Take a look at this PDF to view a list and descriptions of agencies working to protect our waters.