Techniques and Methods 11–C8 National Wildlife Refuges may have
impaired water quality resulting from historic and current land
uses, upstream sources, and aerial pollutant deposition.
National Wildlife Refuge staff have limited time available to
identify and evaluate potential water quality issues. As a
result, water quality–related issues may not be resolved until a
problem has already arisen. The National Wildlife Refuge System
Water Quality Information System (WQIS) is a relational database
developed for use by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff to
identify existing water quality issues on refuges in the United
States. The WQIS database relies on a geospatial overlay
analysis of data layers for ownership, streams and water
quality. The WQIS provides summary statistics of 303(d) impaired
waters and total maximum daily loads for the National Wildlife
Refuge System at the national, regional, and refuge level. The
WQIS allows U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff to be proactive
in addressing water quality i