This customized GIS data set was queried and selected out of the complete, state-wide GIS data set for the Year 2008 305(b)/303(d) listed Rivers/Streams, Coastal Streams and Coastal Beaches segments. Again this GIS dataset is NOT the complete, state-wide GIS data set. The complete state-wide GIS data set can be obtained from <http://www.gaepd.com/Documents/305b.html> . The metadata below is from the complete, state-wide GIS dataset and applies to the customized GIS data set.
METADATA FOR COMPLETE, STATE-WIDE GIS DATA SET:
This ESRI GIS data set is based on the descriptive locations of the listed water bodies within the Year 2008 Integrated 305(b)/303(d) Report, however, it should not be considered as Georgia's approved list. While reasonable effort has been made to ensure this GIS data set accurately reflects the approved list, if discrepancies are found, the water body information in the .pdf documents mentioned below are to be considered official and supercede the GIS data set.
On June 6th, 2008, the Georgia DNR Environmental Protection Division's Year 2008 Integrated 305(b)/303(d) Report (also referred to as Water Quality in Georgia 2006-2007) and lists were approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA). The final and official, approved lists of water body classifications for Rivers/Streams, Lakes/Reservoirs, Coastal Streams, Coastal Beaches, and Sounds/Harbors can be found in .pdf format at <http://www.gaepd.com/Documents/305b.html> and in the compressed .zip with this GIS data set.
This GIS data set represents the State of Georgia 2006-2007 assessment of water quality and resulting Year 2008 305(b)/303(d) list of waters prepared in response to Sections 305(b) and 303(d) of the Clean Water Act and in accordance with the USEPA implementing regulations and guidance. Assessed water bodies are classified as assessment pending, supporting or not supporting their designated uses according to a comparison of water quality monitoring results to water quality standards and other pertinent information. New for the Year 2008 305(b)/303(d) list is the designation of Category Tier levels for each assessed water body. The USEPA is requiring Georgia to use these Category Tier levels beginning with year 2008 and subsequent 305(b)/303(d) reports to USEPA. Please refer to the .pdf file titled "Summary of Changes to the Format of Y2008 305(b)/303(d) List of Waters" at <http://www.gaepd.com/Files_PDF/305b/Y2008_303d/Y2008_Summary_of_Formatting_Changes_List.pdf> or in the compressed .zip with this GIS data set for more information about Tier levels.
This GIS data set is an ESRI polyline shapefile representing Year 2008 305(b)/303(d) listed Rivers/Streams, Coastal Streams and Coastal Beaches segments at a scale of 1:100,000 in Geographic North American Datum 1983 (NAD83). The majority of the GIS data set is based on previous Georgia EPD GIS shapefiles for the 305(b)/303(d) List for the Years 2006, 2004, 2002 and 2000. Georgia's GIS data set for Year 2008 305(b)/303(d) list has been significantly expanded and improved over previous years GIS shapefiles. All new Rivers/Streams and Coastal Streams segments have been created using the National Hydrography Dataset(NHD) Medium Resolution geodatabase feature class. Beach segments were created by Georgia DNR Coastal Resource Division using aerial photography and color IR DOQQs.
When using this GIS dataset, the polylines represent the beginning and end of a listed segment within the state of Georgia. The associated attribute table includes all fields and information within the 305(b)/303(d) list that corresponds to the GIS polyline in addition to USGS Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) 8 and 10.
The spatial data set is an ESRI polyline shapefile. Attribute information includes reach ID, stream reach name, reach location, major basin name, criterion violated, potential causes, data source, water body type, water uses classification, evaluation, category tier, stream extent, beach extent, extent units, priority year, notes, HUC8, and HUC 10.
Section 305(b) requires that each State prepare and submit to the Administrator of the USEPA a biennial report, which describes water quality conditions of navigable waters across the State. The USEPA provides guidance to the States to establish a framework for consistent reporting across the nation. This report provides an assessment of the water quality conditions in Georgia and includes a description of the nature, extent, and causes of documented water quality problems.
Section 303(d) requires that each State identify those waters within its boundaries for which effluent limitations required by Section 301(b)(1)(A) and Section 301(b)(1)(B) are not stringent enough to implement any water quality standard applicable to such waters. States are then required to establish a total maximum daily load for each pollutant at such a level necessary to implement the applicable water quality standard. Georgia?s 305(b)/303(d) list is published biennially as part of the larger publication entitled "Water Quality In Georgia". The 2008 list appears in the 2006 - 2007 edition and is available on <http://www.gaepd.com/Documents/305b.html>.
Designations of assessment pending, supporting and not supporting are valid for the current time-period and may be changed by Georgia EPD upon additional water quality monitoring and subsequent evaluation. Stream reaches and their conditions may change due to new water quality monitoring results and other pertinent information.
The data set depicts stream segments at a detail suitable for scales of 1:100,000 or smaller.
The State of Georgia 2000 305(b)/303(d) List map was developed from an earlier map created by the U.S. Geological Survey Center for Spatial Analysis and Technology (see source citation for DNR305b Stream Reaches).
Modifications were made by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division (GAEPD) to the existing map to create a new map from which the Georgia 305(b) Water Quality Assessment for the Year 2000 map was developed. Modifications included:
Stream reaches not having an assessment designation of supporting, partially supporting, or not supporting (not evaluated) were deleted from the spatial database.
Multiple DLG stream segments representing a single 305(b) listed stream reach were combined into a single stream segment to reduce the size of the database and improve its utility.
All listed stream reaches depicted using a left and right edge of water were represented by a single segment corresponding to one of the edges or the centerline.
Water bodies such as lakes and estuaries represented by polygonal entities were added to the coverage. The polygons were converted to lines in order for them to reside in the same ArcView line theme as the stream reaches.
The database field structure was modified to correspond more closely to the 305(b)/303(d) list. After modifying the original map, stream reaches were added to the modified map to reflect the current 2000 305(b) list of waters. Stream reaches were added using the following methods:
305(b) stream reaches were identified and located using location description information as well as available marked Georgia Department of Transportation county road paper maps.
Using the stream reach location, a line entity was added to the 305(b) map. In cases where there were DLG segments to represent the 305(b) stream reach, these line segments were directly transferred from the DLG coverage to the 305(b) map coverage, and multiple DLG segments were combined into one segment representing the 305(b) reach. In cases where DLG segments were not available to represent the stream reach, primarily in cases of smaller streams, the stream reach was digitized into the map in the approximate location identified.
For water bodies such as lakes and estuaries, DLG segments were used, when available, to define the boundaries of water bodies. In some instances, particularly estuaries, when DLG segments were not available to define the water body boundary, an ellipse was placed in the approximate location of the listed water bodies.
The work performed to modify and update the original map was done using MapInfo software. The final map was converted from the MapInfo file format to the ArcView shapefile format using MapInfo?s Universal Translator software.
For database management purposes unique reach identifiers were assigned to each 305(b) listed water bodies according to the 10-digit hydrologic unit containing the downstream limit of the segment.
The 305(b) map coverage database was checked against Georgia's published water quality assessment 305(b) list for the year 2000. For some listed waters the Actions to Alleviate database field has been truncated due to ArcView 3.x 254 character field length limit.
The process of creating the 2002 List map consisted largely of modifying the 2000 list polyline coverage and attribute table to concur with the new 2002 305(b)/303(d) list document. Significant addition of water body reaches was accomplished using the same methods and software outlined in the 2000 list process. Some reach segments, which did not appear on 1:100,000 hydrology coverage, were drawn in estimated locations. As a final step, a table in dbase format containing the entire 2002 305(b)/303(d) list was joined with the polyline shapefile in ArcView 3.x to form the final product.
The process of creating the 2004 List map was very similar to the process used in 2002. The process consisted largely of modifying the 2002 list polyline coverage and attribute table to concur with the new 2004 305(b)/303(d) list document. Significant additions of water bodies reaches and updates of attributes were accomplished using the same methods outlined in the 2000 list process. Some reach segments, which did not appear on 1:100,000 hydrology coverage, were drawn in estimated locations. For 2004, some work was done in ArcGIS ArcView 8.3 using the geodatabase structure. As a final step, a table in Access format containing the entire 2004 305(b)/303(d) list was joined with the polyline feature class in ArcGIS ArcView 8.3 to form the final product.
The process of creating the 2006 303d List map was very similar to the process used in 2004. The process consisted largely of modifying the 2004 list polyline coverage and attribute table to concur with the new 2006 305(b)/303(d) list document. Significant additions of water body reaches and updates of attributes were accomplished using the same methods outlined in the 2000 list process. Some reach segments, which did not appear on 1:100,000 hydrology coverage, were drawn in estimated locations. For 2006, all work was done in ArcGIS ArcView 9.1 using the geodatabase structure. As a final step, a table in Access format containing the Year 2006 303(d) list (only partially and not supporting segments) was joined with the polyline feature class in ArcGIS ArcView 9.1 to form the final product.
The process of creating the Year 2008 303d List map was very similar to the process used in 2006, however significant updates occurred and newer source GIS data was used. The process consisted largely of modifying the 2006 list polyline data set and attribute table to concur with the new 2008 305(b)/303(d) list document for coastal streams, coastal beaches, and streams. Also a separate polygon dataset was developed for lakes, sounds and harbors. Significant additions of water body reaches and updates of attributes were accomplished using the same methods outlined in the 2000 list process, however, all new streams were added using the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) Medium Resolution as source GIS data. Some reach segments, which did not appear on 1:100,000 NHD, were either drawn in estimated locations or added from 1:24,000 GIS data. For 2008, all final work was done in ArcGIS ArcView 9.1 using the personal geodatabase structure. As a final step, a table in Access format containing the Year 2008 305(b)/303(d) list was joined with the polyline feature class in ArcGIS ArcView 9.1 to form the final product.
The process included performing a selection by attributes to select out all streams and beaches listed for Biota Impacted - Fish Community (Bio F) or Biota Impacted - Macroinvertebrate Community (Bio M). The selected streams were exported into new feature class.