Classification and Environmental Quality Assessment in Aquatic Environments

Abstract

Water plays an important role in our daily life. Natural water in each compartment on Earth is balanced through a hydrological cycle. With the population increase, industrialization, and rapid urbanization, water quality has been affected and an increased demand for water use has occurred. Anthropogenic substances are discharged into our aquatic environment. As a consequence, water contamination has been found in many rivers, streams, and lakes globally. Facing our current water environmental problems, water resources management and aquatic environmental protection and restoration are important issues to us. In the United States, water quality has been improved significantly since 1972 when the Clean Water Act was enacted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In this article, we introduce the classification of waters based on the reservoir they reside in and discuss the water quality, water pollution, and aquatic environmental legislations. This article gives a general overview of water classification, quality assessment, and legislations. Greater efforts are still needed to protect the aquatic environment and improve water quality.