The authors gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of numerous property owners who provided access to sampling locations on their land. We also wish to acknowledge the numerous organizations and individuals who have helped distribute our publications to the interested public. Appreciation also is extended to the following personnel of the U.S. Geological Survey: James B. McConnell for his tireless efforts to provide technical review of many of the NAWQA reports; Maurice D. Winner for his thoughtful reviews and approval of untried report products; and finally Caryl J. Wipperfurth, and Carolyn A. Casteel of the Georgia District publications unit for their timeliness and attention to quality. Photographs without credit listed were taken by one of the report authors. • Front Cover-Photograph of downtown, Atlanta, Ga., March 30, 1997, reprinted from Georgia Aerial Surveys, Inc., and published with permission. • Back Cover-Photographs of Horse Trough Falls in the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River (photograph by Alan M. Cressler, USGS); Morgan Falls Dam on the Chattahoochee River, built in 1904 to power trolley cars in downtown Atlanta; and the Apalachicola Bay Estuary, located at the mouth of the ACF River Basin-the bay is prized for commercial fishing and oyster and shrimp harvesting. From its headwaters on the forested slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Chattahoochee River begins its course toward the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way, the river flows through poultry production areas of northern Georgia, the growing metropolis of Atlanta, and numerous reservoirs surrounded by rolling forests and farmlands of Georgia and Alabama. The Flint River begins beneath the runways of Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport, but is quickly surrounded by rolling forests and farmlands, as well. Where Georgia, Alabama, and Florida meet, the Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers join to form the Apalachicola River. The Apalachicola River finishes the journey to the Gulf of Mexico winding its way through large expanses of coastal forests of the Florida Panhandle. The seemingly untouched headwaters and mouth of this river system give few hints to its role as a vital source of water for drinking, generating power, recreation, assimilating wastes, irrigating crops, transportation, and producing seafood. The action is in between.

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Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number.

The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to assess the quantity and quality of the earth resources of the Nation and to provide information that will assist resource managers and policymakers at Federal, State, and local levels in making sound decisions. Assessment of water-quality conditions and trends is an important part of this overall mission.One of the greatest challenges faced by water-resources scientists is acquiring reliable information that will guide the use and protection of the Nation's water resources. That challenge is being addressed by Federal, State, interstate, and local water-resource agencies and by many academic institutions. These organizations are collecting water-quality data for a host of purposes that include: compliance with permits and water-supply standards; development of remediation plans for a specific contamination problem; operational decisions on industrial, wastewater, or water-supply facilities; and research on factors that affect water quality. An additional need for water-quality information is to provide a basis on which regional and national-level policy decisions can be based. Wise decisions must be based on sound information. As a society, we need to know whether certain types of waterquality problems are isolated or ubiquitous, whether there are significant differences in conditions among regions, whether the conditions are changing over time, and why these conditions change from place to place and over time. The information can be used to help determine the efficacy of existing water-quality policies and to help analysts determine the need for, and likely consequences, of new policies.To address these needs, the Congress appropriated funds in 1986 for the USGS to begin a pilot program in seven project areas to develop and refine the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. In 1991, the USGS began full implementation of the program. The NAWQA Program builds upon an existing base of waterquality studies of the USGS, as well as those of other Federal, State, and local agencies. The objectives of the NAWQA Program are to: describe current water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's freshwater streams, rivers, and aquifers;describe how water quality is changing over time; and improve understanding of primary natural and human factors that affect water-quality conditions. This information will help support the development and evaluation of management, regulatory, and monitoring decisions by other Federal, State, and local agencies to protect, use, and enhance water resources.The goals of the NAWQA Program are being achieved through ongoing and proposed investigations of 60 of the Nation's most important river basins and aquifer systems, which are referred to as study units. These study units are distributed throughout the Nation and cover a diversity of hydrogeologic settings. More than two-thirds of the Nation's freshwater use occurs within the 60 study units and more than two-thirds of the people served by public water-supply systems l...

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