Water Quality - Surface Water Program

Since 1992, the Volusia County Environmental Health Lab (VCEHL) has collected water samples from the watersheds of Volusia County such as the Halifax River, St. John’s River, Mosquito Lagoon, the springs in West Volusia, and numerous lakes. In order to provide the public with these results and to help locate water body areas that need improvement, the VCEHL has summarized the historical surface water data and produced graphs of these analyses. The graphs will help assess whether or not there have been any changes in the surface waters. They will also help assess whether or not any significant long term changes or trends are developing within the water body over time. Results of the water quality analyses are also periodically reported to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and are stored into a large database system called STORET. This is a storage and retrieval system of water quality data for surface waters throughout the nation. This Data can be accessed at the USEPA’s web site www.epa.gov.

When analyzing the quality of surface waters, there are many factors to consider. Guidelines have been established for certain parameters such as bacteriological and nutrient levels, which can indicate if pollution is adversely affecting the area where a water sample was collected.

Two types of pollution affect our surface waters: Point source, and non-point source pollution. Point source pollution is identifiable as a specific discharge from industrial facilities, landfills, septic systems, sewage treatment plants, and other facilities. Non-point source pollution includes storm water and other sources which are non-specific, the actual sources of this type of pollution are unlikely to be determined.

Storm water is the runoff from developed urban and agricultural areas. As rainfall flows across yards, streets, parking lots, animal lots and fields, it picks up many contaminants, dumping them into waterways and wetlands through storm drains, pipes and ditches. In both urban and agricultural storm water, elevated nitrogen and phosphorus levels are discharged into the receiving water body from fertilizers and animal wastes that alter the natural balance of these nutrients.These elevated nutrient levels result in the growth of algae, which can ultimately lead to oxygen depletion in the water and kill aquatic life.

Agricultural storm water runoff is especially serious when it enters slow-moving rivers or bodies of water with little or no water circulation such as canals and lakes. Even rainfall can act as a non-point source pollutant when it becomes acidic (‘acid rain’) as a result of sulfates and nitrates being released into the air from auto exhausts and industrial emissions.

Executive Summary | Surface Water Program | Water Quality Index | Glossary

Disclaimer | Data | Water Quality Main Page