The URL below  links to the public website illustrating current stream assessment information in Tennessee. 

The URL is serviced using ESRI's ArcIMS software.   Included on the site are the following surface features: roads, rivers, lakes, parks, and county boundaries.  As you zoom into an area, more information becomes available.  

First Time Users: Please download the help file to familiarize yourself with the various operations you can perform.  **Some operations can only be performed against the active layer as specified in the legend window (see help file)**

URL to TN Stream Assessment:   http://gwidc.memphis.edu/website/wpc_arcmap  

Tennessee’s Water Quality Assessment

Watersheds in Tennessee are monitored and assessed on a rotating basis by the Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC).  Assessment results are stored in EPA's Assessment Database and were used to compile the 2002 303(d) List and for development of the 305(b) Report.  The Online Asssessment Website provides GIS-based public access to assessment data for individual stream segments such as the degree of use support, location information, and the general basis for the assessment.  The can also be used to generate color maps.

 The water quality assessment data shown on this site summarize how well the streams in Tennessee meet their assigned water quality standards.  To help facilitate this analysis, all major rivers, streams, reservoirs, and lakes are divided into sections called “waterbody segments.”  These waterbody segments are placed into one of five assessment categories:

1.      Fully Supporting waterbody segments have water quality that will support its designated uses.  Most streams in Tennessee fall into this category.  Water quality criteria are generally always met in these streams.  Additionally, they support a level of biological integrity generally comparable to that found in reference streams in the same region.   

2.      Fully Supporting but Threatened are those waterbody segments that, if current trends continue, will loose the ability to support designated uses in the next two years.  This assessment must be supported by data indicating a pattern of water quality degradation. 

3.      Not Supporting waterbody segments are impacted by pollution.  Water quality criteria are violated.  Water quality is considered impacted. Significant differences are noted between biological communities when compared to fully supporting streams.   

4.       Not Assessed are waterbody segments where recent water quality data are not available.   Rather than make an assessment in which the Division would have low confidence, streams are placed in this category.

5.       Dry waterbodies are those that have been visited mulitple times and have always shown little or no water.  Biological communities are depressed due to a lack of available water rather than pollution.

The  DRAFT 2004 303(d) list and 2004 305(b) report more thoroughly document Tennessee’s assessment process and present cause and source information for impaired waterbody segments.  The Online Assessment website provides GIS-based access to some assessment information, but does not yet have linked cause and source data.  This cause and source information for individual segments can easily be located in the 303(d) List by use for the waterbody segment id number.

For more detailed information about stream assessment, please contact Rich Cochran (Watershed Management Section) or Greg Denton (Planning and Standards Section) with the Division of Water Pollution Control or call TDEC (1-888-891-TDEC).  

If you have any questions or problems regarding this page, please contact Brian Waldron at GWI (901-678-3913).

This website has been developed by Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) in cooperation with the Ground Water Institute (GWI) at The University of Memphis.   The site is hosted through GWI under the GIS (geographic information system) contract ED-??.