Abstract:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in partnership with states,
territories and tribes, is improving communication with the regulated community
and the public about the quality of the Nation?s surface waters through the use
of the Watershed Assessment, Tracking and Environmental Results (WATERS).
WATERS unifies geography-specific water quality information previously
available only on
... individual state web sites and various EPA web sites.
WATERS is a data architecture that integrates information from various EPA
Office of Water programs by linking it to the national surface water network.
Through WATERS, environmental professionals and interested citizens can
access comprehensive information about the quality of the Nation?s surface
water. By clicking on an interactive Web-based map, users can simultaneously
display the locations and associated information for:
-the designated use(s) of a waterbody
-water quality monitoring stations
-assessments of water quality
-causes and sources of impaired waters
-public beaches
-no discharge zones for vessel sewage
[Summary provided by the EPA.] 
