The Water Quality Assurance Act (WQAA) is a state law to protect groundwater quality in Florida. The establishment of the WQAA was based on emerging water issue reports related to groundwater and surface water contamination. Since Florida is a state where the primary state water needs come from groundwater, the purposes of the WQAA are to relieve the impacts of water resource contamination and manage hazardous waste problems.
Some things to know about the WQAA:
In Florida, two agencies are involved in setting rules for ensuring good water quality in Florida’s water resources: the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). Based on the WQAA, the FDEP has developed the Ground Water Quality Monitoring Network (GWQMN) to detect or predict contamination of the state’s ground water resources. The objectives of the GWQMN program are:
- To establish the baseline water quality of major aquifer systems in the state;
- To determine significant trends in ground water quality;
- To detect and predict changes in ground water quality resulting from the effects of various land use activities and potential sources of contamination; and
- To disseminate to the Department, local governments and the public, water quality data and interpretations generated by the network.
More detailed information about the GWQMN program can be found at: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/monitoring/gwqmn.htm
