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program should therefore integrate all of these needs to avoid 

 overlapping data collection programs and insure acquiring the broad 

 data base needed to advance scientific knowledge of the estuarine zone. 



A further need related to the advancement of knowledge is basic data 

 on unpolluted and unmodified estuarine systems; it is the lack of these 

 kinds of data that hampers many present efforts at evaluating the 

 effects of past changes on the environment. 



Present efforts at water quality monitoring in estuarine systems are 

 scattered; they are primarily a matter of State concern, and have been 

 carried out directly by State agencies or through cooperation with 

 local governments and industries. These efforts should be integrated 

 into a nationwide water quality monitoring program designed to satisfy 

 national as well as local needs. 



