Baseline Water Quality Data Inventory and Analysis

This document presents the results of surface-water-quality data retrievals for North Cascades National Park, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, and Ross Lake National Recreation Area (NOCA) from five of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) national databases: (1) Storage and Retrieval (STORET) database management system; (2) River Reach File (RF3)+; (3) Industrial Facilities Discharge (IFD); (4) Drinking Water Supplies (DRINKS); and (5) Flow Gages (GAGES). The document provides: (1) a complete inventory of all retrieved water quality parameter data, water quality stations, and the entities responsible for the data collection; (2) descriptive statistics and appropriate graphical plots of water quality data characterizing annual and seasonal central tendencies and trends; (3) a comparison of the park's water quality data to relevant EPA and WRD water quality screening criteria; and (4) an Inventory Data Evaluation and Analysis (IDEA) to determine what Servicewide Inventory and Monitoring Program "Level I" water quality parameters have been measured within the study area.