
Georgia Water Quality Standards
Clean Water Act Goals & Objectives

The objective of the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters, and to achieve wherever attainable, the goal of providing for the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, wildlife, and providing for recreation in and on the water. Water quality standards are a key tool used by States to meet these goals and are a fundamental component of watershed management. Water quality standards are the foundation for numerous activities conducted by Georgia EPD including development of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), issuance of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, and assessment of State waters as part of the 305(b)/303(d) listing process. The Board of Natural Resources establishes rules and regulations to protect Georgia’s surface water, the health of the people who use the water, and the aquatic life in the water.
Water Quality Standards
Water quality standards, found in Georgia’s Rules and Regulations for Water Quality Control (Chapter 391-3-6-.03), are made up of three components:
1. Designated Uses that establish the environmental use of the waterbody. There are six designated uses in Georgia including:
(a) Drinking Water Supplies
(b) Recreation
(c) Fishing
(d) Wild River
(e) Scenic River
(f) Coastal Fishing
Designated uses are established for all waters in the state. From time to time, EPD revises the designated use(s) of a waterbody based on updated information and stakeholder input. EPD has developed guidance for recommending a change in the designated use of a waterbody.
EPD is in the process of revising the guidance document for recommending a change in designated use and will be holding a public meeting on February 25th 2022, to receive input from interested stakeholders.
- View the
public
notice for the meeting with Zoom Meeting details -
Presentation
from Designated Use Change Guidance Document Discussion Meeting - February 25, 2022 - View the
Guidance
for Recommending a Change in Designated Use – posted on March 16, 2022 - View the
Initial
Nomination Form , RecreationLocation Data Template , and FinalNomination Package Checklist
2. Numeric and Narrative Criteria protect the designated uses. Georgia has general criteria that apply to all waters of the State, which include both narrative and numeric criteria, and specific criteria that support a water’s designated use. Specific criteria are for dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, and bacteria. In addition, specific numeric criteria for lakes are for nutrients, chlorophyll-a, and pH.
View
3. Antidegradation Policy protects and maintains the state’s water quality from new or expanding dischargers.
Information on Georgia’s antidegradation implementation is given in the
Antidegradation
Water Quality Standard Approval
In compliance with 40 CFR 131.21 (aka The Alaska Rule), state’s water quality standards must be approved by EPA before they are used for activities authorized by the Clean Water Act (such as issuing wastewater permits, drafting TMDLs, and assessing waters). Georgia’s water quality standards that are adopted by the Georgia Board of Natural Resources can be found on the Secretary of State’s website. These rules may or may not have been approved by EPA. This is a consequence of the process for the adoption of water quality standards, which is as follows:

- Standards are adopted by the Board of Natural Resources after which they are filed with the Secretary of State’s office.
- The Secretary of State posts the newly adopted Rules on their website.
- Georgia EPD must obtain the State Attorney General’s certification that the standards were adopted in accordance with State law.
- Finally, standards are sent to U.S. EPA for approval for Clean Water Act purposes. It can be many months between the time standards are adopted by the Board of Natural Resources and U.S. EPA approval is granted.
Latest
EPA’s approval on August 31, 2022, followed adoption by the Board of Natural Resources on January 28, 2022.
EPA Approval
EPA
Triennial Review
The Clean Water Act section 303(c) and Federal Regulation 40 §CFR 131.20 requires Georgia to review and revise its water quality standards from time to time, but at least once every three years. This process, which revises water quality standards every 3 years, is known as the Triennial Review.
2022 Triennial Review
EPD held a virtual public meeting on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, at 11:00 am to discuss the risk targets associated with the human health criteria updates being evaluated for the 2022 Triennial Review. Meeting details were sent out in a
public
Presentation
EPD held a virtual public meeting on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 at 11:00 am to discuss the human health criteria updates being evaluated for the 2022 Triennial Review. Meeting details were sent out in a
public
Presentation
Georgia EPD initiated the 2022 Triennial Review with a
public
Presentation
2019 Triennial Review
As required by federal law and regulation, Georgia EPD initiated the 2019 Triennial Review with a public notice distributed on January 7, 2019. An opening public hearing was held on February 26, 2019. Additional public meetings for the Triennial Review Process were held to allow the public further opportunities to provide input and the presentations made at the various meetings and hearing(s) can be found below. A final public hearing was held on Tuesday, December 13, 2021 to provide the public a final opportunity to comment and offer input on the proposed rule amendments. The rule amendments were adopted by the DNR Board on January 28, 2022 and were certified by the Secretary of State and Attorney General before being sent to EPA for approval on April 1, 2022. EPA approved the rule amendments on August 31, 2022.
Presentation
Presentation
Presentation
Presentation
Presentation
Presentation
Presentation

The technical documents to support the 2019 Triennial Review can be found here:
- View the
public
notice , proposedrule amendments , and the synopsisand statement of rationale . - The supporting technical document “
Lakes
Oconee and Sinclair: Proposed Criteria Technical Support Document ” describes development of the site-specific lake standards. - The supporting technical document “
Bacteria
Criteria for Drinking Water and Fishing Designated Uses ” describes development of the proposed bacteria criteria for secondary recreation waters during non-recreation season. - The
Draft
Guidance for Changing a Designated Use . - The supporting technical document “
Recreation
Designated Use Change Technical Support Document ” describes the decision making process EPD used for changing the designated use of 14 waterbodies to recreation.
Water Quality Standards Development Plans and Guidance Documents
Information | Links |
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Georgia has developed a mutually agreed upon strategy for adopting nutrient water quality standards. |
Georgia’s |
EPA, GA EPD, and SC DHEC have collaborated on a report intended to provide technical support in developing and establishing numeric nutrient criteria to support applicable designated uses in the states’ estuaries. |
An |
Outstanding National Resource Water (ONRW) is a designation granted to waters afforded the highest level of protection under Tier 3 of the antidegradation policy. This designation is considered for waters of exceptional ecological, recreational, aesthetic, or historic significance. Existing water quality shall be maintained and protected, and where feasible improved. GA EPD has developed procedures for recommending ONRWs. |
Procedures |
NPDES Permitting Strategies
Information | Links |
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Georgia EPD has developed strategies to address implementation of total phosphorus and ammonia in NPDES permitting. |
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Georgia EPD has developed a strategy to address the implementation of changes to the bacteria criteria for water quality standards and NPDES permitting (Bacteria Strategy). | |
In September 2023, EPD finalized Georgia's roadmap for the development of a comprehensive Nutrient Reduction Strategy for point and nonpoint source discharges. This document builds upon a draft roadmap document that went through public review and feedback beginning in 2022. This document addresses existing laws, guidance documents, and permitting strategies, as well as EPD's proposed actions and timelines for revising or developing various related strategies and plans. |
Roadmap for |