foreword 



THE NATIONAL Technical Advisory Sub- 

 committee for Research and Aesthetics has 

 been asked to — 



( 1 ) recommend water quality criteria for recre- 

 ation and aesthetic uses; and 



(2) identify research needs and priorities relat- 

 ing to water quality for recreation and aes- 

 thetic uses. 



This report is addressed to the first of these as- 

 signments. It includes observations on aesthetic 

 and recreation values as these are understood by 

 the Subcommittee. Criteria — descriptive and nu- 

 merical — are based upon evaluation of existing 

 information by members of the Subcommittee and 

 others whose counsel has been sought infonnally. 

 There are serious gaps, and considerable conflict, 

 in available information. Research recommenda- 

 tions are offered in a separate paper. 



The Subcommittee is grateful for the opportu- 

 nity to assist in implementing the Water Quality 

 Act of 1965 by recommending criteria for aes- 

 thetic and recreation purposes. The Subcommittee 

 notes, however, that the protection of water qual- 

 ity for desired uses requires far more than tech- 

 nical data. There is urgent need for systematic 

 surveillance (traditional sanitary surveys broad- 

 ened to Include aesthetic qualities) of waters and 

 of waste sources to make effective use of criteria 

 in practice. And in the last analysis, accomplish- 

 ment of water quality goals will depend on 

 people: alert and responsible administrators at 

 all levels of government and industry, well-trained 

 scientists, engineers, and technicians, sympathetic 

 legislators and stockholders, and an informed 

 public. 



With this somewhat modest view of its assign- 

 ment and its performance, the Subcommittee is 

 pleased to offer this report. In the interest of or- 

 derly exposition, the Subcommittee has chosen to 

 consider aesthetics first, followed by recreation. 



NOTES 



1. The Subcommittee has found that criteria are needed 

 for water quality management for de facto, as well as 

 designated, water uses. This finding is reflected through- 

 out the report and particularly in criteria for recreation. 



2. The Subcommittee has not proposed delicate grada- 

 tions in criteria, assuming that in natural waters — even 

 for specific uses at specific points — management neces- 

 sarily involves sizable reaches of water. 



3. The recommendations in this report should be con- 

 sidered as subject to periodic adjustment as better in- 

 formation becomes available. 



