QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM PLAN Water Quality Modeling and Groundwater and Surface Monitoring Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division 2018-22 Georgia Environmental Protection Division Watershed Protection Branch 2 MLK, Jr., S.W., Suite 1152 Atlanta, Georgia 30334 WPMP-QAPP 3 rev 1 June 2018 USEPA Sections 106, 104, 604 and 319 Monitoring GA DNR Grant #s BG – 96409617, C6-00499916, C6-00499917, C6-00499918, C6-00499919 I-95411508-0, and I-9511408-0. Georgia Environmental Protection Division QAPP for Water Quality Modeling and Ground Water and Surface Monitoring WPMP-QAPP 3 rev 1 June 2018 Page 2 of 132 A. PROJECT MANAGEMENT A1. Title and Approval Sheet QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM PLAN WATER QUALITY MODELING AND GROUNDWATER AND SURFACE MONITORING GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DIVISION 2018-22 GAEPD Watershed Monitoring Manager: ______(Original Signed & Dated)___________ (Elizabeth Booth) (Date) GAEPD Database/GIS Officer: _____ _(Original Signed & Dated)___________ (Joel Owen) (Date) GAEPD Quality Assurance Officer: ______ (Original Signed & Dated)____________ (Susan Salter) (Date) Georgia Environmental Protection Division QAPP for Water Quality Modeling and Ground Water and Surface Monitoring WPMP-QAPP 3 rev 1 June 2018 Page 3 of 132 FORWARD: This document is the Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GAEPD) Surface Water Modeling and Monitoring Projects. This QAPP applies to the collection and assessment of groundwater and surface water quality data by GAEPD for a five-year period (2018-2022). Annual addendums to this QAPP shall be provided to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Region IV and other users for any programmatic changes affecting the monitoring or modeling programs. This five-year program QAPP shall be annually supplemented by project-specific water quality modeling and sampling plans that provide detailed information regarding individual project sampling design. QAPP Format: This QAPP has been prepared following the USEPA’s requirements for Quality Assurance Project Plans (EPA QA/R-5, March 2001 and USEPA’s Guidance for Quality Assurance Project Plans (EPA QA/G-5, December 2002). Document Availability: The 2018-22 QAPP is available in electronic format (pdf, CD and GAEPD website: https://epd.georgia.gov/watershed-protection-branch. Electronic and paper copies of this QAPP are available upon request. Requests should be submitted to Susan Ruff at 404-643-1507, [email protected], or by mail at 2 MLK, Jr., Drive, S.W., Suite 1152, Atlanta, GA 30334. Georgia Environmental Protection Division QAPP for Water Quality Modeling and Ground Water and Surface Monitoring WPMP-QAPP 3 rev 1 June 2018 Page 4 of 132 A2. Table of Contents A. PROJECT MANAGEMENT .....................................................................................................2 A1. TITLE AND APPROVAL SHEET ................................................................................................... 2 A2. Table of Contents .....................................................................................................................4 Appendix ................................................................................................................................... 6 Tables ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Figures ....................................................................................................................................... 7 Acronyms and Abbreviations .................................................................................................... 8 A3. DISTRIBUTION LIST ................................................................................................................ 10 A4. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND ORGANIZATION ........................................................................ 12 A5. PROBLEM DEFINITION/BACKGROUND .................................................................................... 16 A6. PROJECT/ TASK DESCRIPTION AND SCHEDULE ....................................................................... 17 A7. QUALITY OBJECTIVES AND CRITERIA FOR WATER QUALITY MODELING ............................... 28 A7.1 STATE THE PROBLEM ............................................................................................. 29 A7.2 IDENTIFY THE STUDY QUESTION .............................................................................. 29 A7.3 IDENTIFY INFORMATION NEEDS ............................................................................ 29 A7.4 SPECIFY THE CHARACTERISTICS THAT DEFINE THE POPULATION OF INTEREST ...... 29 A7.5 DEVELOP THE STRATEGY FOR INFORMATION SYNTHESIS ....................................... 30 A7.6 SPECIFY PERFORMANCE AND ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA ........................................... 31 A7.7 OPTIMIZE THE DESIGN FOR OBTAINING AND GENERATING ADEQUATE DATA OR INFORMATION .................................................................................................................... 32 A8. SPECIAL TRAINING REQUIREMENTS/CERTIFICATION LISTED .................................................. 36 A9. QUALITY OBJECTIVES AND CRITERIA FOR WATER QUALITY MONITORING ............................ 34 A9.1. ACCURACY ............................................................................................................... 39 A9.2. PRECISION ................................................................................................................ 39 A9.3. REPRESENTATIVENESS ............................................................................................. 40 A9.4. COMPLETENESS ........................................................................................................ 40 A9.5. COMPARABILITY ...................................................................................................... 40 A9.6. DETECTION LIMITS ................................................................................................... 40 A9.7. HOLDING TIMES ....................................................................................................... 40 A9.8. SENSITIVITY ............................................................................................................. 40 A9.9. STANDARD PROTOCOLS ........................................................................................... 41 A9.10. PERFORMANCE AUDITING ...................................................................................... 41 A10. DOCUMENTS AND RECORDS ................................................................................................. 41 A10.1. FIELD RECORDS ..................................................................................................... 42 A10.2. LABORATORY RECORDS ......................................................................................... 43 A10.3. OFFICE RECORDS ................................................................................................... 43 A10.4. SAMPLING STATION REGISTRATION ....................................................................... 43 A10.5. DOCUMENTATION PROTOCOLS ............................................................................... 43 A10.6. DATA HANDLING RECORDS ................................................................................... 43 A10.7. DATA ARCHIVING AND RETRIEVAL ........................................................................ 44 B. DATA GENERATION AND ACQUISITION........................................................................45 B1. SAMPLING PROCESS DESIGN ................................................................................................... 45 B1.1. PURPOSE/BACKGROUND ........................................................................................... 45 Georgia Environmental Protection Division QAPP for Water Quality Modeling and Ground Water and Surface Monitoring WPMP-QAPP 3 rev 1 June 2018 Page 5 of 132 B1.2. MONITORING DESIGN ............................................................................................... 46 B1.2.1. RIVER BASINS ........................................................................................... 46 B1.2.2. ECOREGIONS ............................................................................................. 46 B1.3. INDICATOR VARIABLES .............................................................................................. 47 B1.4. LONG-TERM DESIGN STRATEGY .............................................................................. 47 B1.5. SITE SELECTION CRITERIA ....................................................................................... 48 B1.6. CURRENT DESIGN APPROACH .................................................................................. 48 B1.7. DETAILED PROJECT-SPECIFIC SAMPLING PLANS ...................................................... 50 B2. SAMPLING METHODS ............................................................................................................... 50 B2.1. FIELD SAFETY .......................................................................................................... 52 B2.2. AVAILABLE FIELD EQUIPMENT................................................................................. 52 B2.3. BOTTLE TYPES, PRESERVATION TECHNIQUES AND HOLDING TIMES ........................ 54 B2.4. FIELD QUALITY CONTROL ......................................................................................