IV-400 



there probably would be severe quality deterioration throughout 

 the coastal regions of the country. However, the implementation of 

 the water quality standards program through joint Federal -State 

 effort has provided a two-pronged attack on pollution with two 

 levels of regulatory power. Rigid enforcement of this program 

 should result in a steady improvement of the quality of water enter- 

 ing the estuary systems. Table IV. 5. 10 summarizes the tributary 

 inflow quality from upstream pollution for selected streams enter- 

 ing the estuarine zone. These data are for the first station above 

 tidal influence and show the baseline for management planning. 

 These data may be contrasted with natural river water quality shown 

 in Table IV. 1.8. 



The second item to consider is the quality of the inflow from land 

 runoff. The pollutional potential of this source is dependent on 

 land use patterns, the rainfall-land runoff relationship, and 

 rainfall intensity. If the land is essentially natural marshland 

 or covered by natural vegetation, runoff does not pose a serious 

 water quality problem. Runoff from agricultural land, however, can 

 be a threat, depending upon the amount of chemical fertilizers 

 and pesticides used and the degree to which the land can be eroded. 

 If the land is urbanized with large paved areas, the runoff can be 

 up to twice as strong as normal domestic sewage because of the oil 

 and other materials carried from the streets and yards (Figure IV. 5 

 .18). 



