Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report
Alaska's Integrated Report
Every two years, Alaska compiles and analyzes water quality data to determine if waterbodies are meeting Alaska Water Quality Standards. These waterbody assessments help DEC:
- Understand water quality in Alaska
- Prioritize restoration areas
- Protect human health
- Identify impairments and areas for restoration
- Prioritize grant funding to communities
Collectively this process is called the Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report, or Integrated Report. It satisfies Sections 305(b) and 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. Section 305(b) requires that the quality of all waterbodies be characterized, and Section 303(d) requires states list any waterbodies that do not meet water quality standards (these are known as polluted or impaired waters). The Integrated Report combines this information into a single comprehensive report.
What are the Integrated Report categories?
There are five categories to which a waterbody can be assigned:
| Categories 1 and 2 | Waters for which there is enough information to determine that water quality standards are attained for all or some of their designated uses. |
| Category 3 | Waters for which there is not enough information to determine their status. |
| Category 4 | Waters that are impaired, but have one of several different types of waterbody recovery plans. |
| Category 5 | Waters that are impaired and do not yet have waterbody recovery plans. Also known as 303(d) list impaired waters. |
Impairment means that a waterbody persistently exceeds state water quality standards (18 AAC 70), usually determined after two or more years of water quality monitoring. DEC makes impairment decisions using publicly available listing methodologies. EPA has approval authority over waters moving into and out of Category 5, also known as the impaired waters list. Waters in Category 4 are also impaired but have an EPA-approved waterbody recovery plan.
Draft 2024 Integrated Report
Every two years, DEC reports on the condition of Alaska’s waters, which helps the State prioritize waters for action such as data gathering, watershed protection, and rehabilitation of impaired waters. This report categorizes waterbodies and identifies impaired waters under the Clean Water Act sections 305(b) and 303(d).
The Draft 2024 Integrated Report was open for public comment between June 22, 2024 to July 22, 2024. DEC also hosted an informational meeting on July 8, 2024.
Approved 2022 IR
DEC submitted the final 2022 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report to EPA on August 31, 2022, including the 305(b) report on the status of State waters and the 303(d) Impaired Waters List. Major changes in the report included the addition of 3 waterbodies to the Impaired Waters list, 2 beaches in Ketchikan for pathogens exceedances and one creek on Admiralty Island for lead exceedances. For a more detailed summary of the report, see the 2022 Integrated Report Factsheet. EPA approved Alaska’s 2022 Integrated Report on September 15, 2022.
Historically DEC prepared a paper Integrated Report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to satisfy the reporting requirements of the Clean Water Act. There is no longer a paper report, water quality assessment information from the States is sent to the EPA and managed in a system called ATTAINS (Assessment and Total Maximum Daily Load Tracking and Implementation System).
Past IRs/Resources
Approved Integrated Reports
- 2014/2016 Integrated Report (PDF 1.4M)
- 2012 Integrated Report (PDF 2.3M)
- 2010 Integrated Report (PDF 1.9M)
- 2008 Integrated Report (PDF 2M)
- 2006 Integrated Report (PDF 1.58M)
- 2004 Integrated Report (PDF 747K)
- 2002-3 Integrated Report (PDF 2.5M)
- 1998 Integrated Report (PDF 133K)
- 1996 Integrated Report (PDF 191K)
Final Listing Methodologies
- Alaska Consolidated Assessment and Listing Methodology (PDF)
- Turbidity (PDF)
- Petroleum Hydrocarbons, Oils and Grease (PDF)
- Pathogens 2021 (PDF)
- Residues (PDF)
Water Quality Data
This map depicts waters assessed up to and including the 2022 Final Integrated Report. There are 5 categories to which a waterbody can be assigned when assessed, based on whether or not water quality standards are being met. Categories 1 and 2 are meeting standards for some or all of their designated uses, category 3 includes waters for which there is not enough information to make a determination, and categories 4 and 5 include waters that are not meeting standards for some designated uses. Waterbodies shown on the map have been evaluated, zoom in to see the assessed portion of an individual waterbody.
Waters that persistently do not meet Alaska’s Water Quality Standards (18 AAC 70) are placed in Alaska’s 303(d) Category 5 Impaired Waters List through the Integrated Reporting process. When a water is Category 5 listed, it triggers certain requirements in order for that water to move out of Category 5.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) establishes the maximum amount of a pollutant allowed in a waterbody and serves as the starting point or planning tool for restoring water quality. A TMDL identifies pollution sources in a waterbody and calculates the amount or 'load' of that specific pollutant that the water can receive and still maintain Water Quality Standards. TMDLs are a necessary first step toward waterbody recovery and are the primary tool per the Clean Water Act for a waterbody to be moved from the Alaska 303(d) Category 5 Impaired Waters List. TMDLs are approved by EPA and once approved, the water-body moves to Category 4a, impaired with a recovery plan in place. TMDL implementation includes taking actions to improve water quality. See TMDL FAQs for more information
TMDLs are not the only tool DEC utilizes for planning water quality improvements in impaired waters. EPA allows alternative plans that identify actions that when implemented are expected to improve water quality in a set amount of time. These types of alternative plans are also approved by EPA and move an impaired water from Category 5 to Category 4b, impaired with an alternative recovery plan in place. DEC developed a 10-year Prioritization Framework as part of the 303(d) program and EPA’s Vision process. The document outlines the approach and considerations DEC uses for restoring and protecting water quality.
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