30 Year Biological Trends Report
Since 1972, New York State has monitored the health of its rivers and streams by studying the biological communities living in them. Macroinvertebrates are excellent indicators of overall water quality because they are sensitive to environmental impacts, are less mobile than fish and cannot avoid most discharges, and are abundant in the state's waters. Statewide ambient water quality monitoring is conducted on a rotating cycle, and since this monitoring began, many bodies of water have been sampled multiple times, providing the means to identify temporal trends in water quality. "30 Year Trends in Water Quality of Rivers and Streams in New York State, Based on Macroinvertebrate Data" presents a summary of the trends seen statewide, as well as those for many individual rivers and streams.
You may download the entire report (PDF) (14.5 MB) or individual sections as listed below.
30 Year Trends in Water Quality of Rivers and Streams in New York State
Introduction (PDF) (2.34 MB) - includes the report cover, table of contents and description of the WI/PWL program.
Basin Assessments
- Basin 1 - Lake Erie & Niagara River Drainage Basin (PDF) (564 KB)
- Basin 2 - Allegheny River Drainage Basin (PDF) (321 KB)
- Basin 3 - Lake Ontario Drainage Basin (PDF) (777 KB)
- Basin 4 - Genesee River Drainage Basin (PDF) (336 KB)
- Basin 5 - Chemung River Drainage Basin (PDF) (334 KB)
- Basin 6 - Susquehanna River Drainage Basin (PDF) (1.03 MB)
- Basin 7 - Seneca-Oswego-Oneida Rivers Drainage Basin (PDF) (888 KB)
- Basin 8 - Black River Drainage Basin (PDF) (412 KB)
- Basin 9 - St. Lawrence River Drainage Basin (PDF) (405 KB)
- Basin 10 - Lake Champlain Drainage Basin (PDF) (433 KB)
- Basin 11 - Upper Hudson River Drainage Basin (PDF) (1.63 MB)
- Basin 12 - Mohawk River Drainage Basin (PDF) (1.17 MB)
- Basin 13 - Lower Hudson River Drainage Basin (PDF) (2.26 MB)
- Basin 14 - Delaware River Drainage Basin (PDF) (410 KB)
- Basin 15 - Passaic-Newark Drainage Basin (PDF) (208 KB)
- Basin 16 - Housatonic River Drainage Basin (PDF) (988 KB)
- Basin 17 - Atlantic Ocean-Long Island Sound Drainage Basin (PDF) (427 KB)
Appendices (PDF) (978 KB) - includes biological sampling methods.
