Water Quality for Healthy Beaches and Shellfish Beds

The Water Quality Team is currently working to improve the monitoring system used for the Gulf. Currently, there are several different monitoring programs across the Gulf, each using different methods specifically for their individual needs. The problem is there is no way to compare the information from different monitoring programs and see the “whole picture” of what is happening in the Gulf.  Currently, the Water Quality Team is working to create a Gulf-wide network that will include existing monitoring programs. This network will be utilized to identify underlying causes of these problems and possible solutions. It will also help to evaluate to see which efforts work or not in addressing the over all issues of water quality in the Gulf of Mexico.

In the fall of 2010 the Water Quality Team held round robins to improve data comparability efforts across the Gulf of Mexico. They discussed how measurements are taken in the field and processed in the laboratory and what the similarities/differences between the states include. Laboratories participating in the analytical round robin included Alabama Department of Environmental Management, Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County, Florida International University, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, National Water Quality Laboratory, Sanders Laboratories, Inc., Southwest Florida Water Management District, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Information from NOAA:

HAB forecasting                    http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/hab/
HAB Observing system          http://habsos.noaa.gov/