What should be monitored to assess compliance with water quality standards?

Monitoring nutrient levels is essential for assessing compliance with water quality standards because nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, are key contributors to water quality issues such as eutrophication. When excessive nutrients enter water bodies, they can lead to harmful algal blooms, which deplete oxygen levels and harm aquatic life. By measuring nutrient concentrations, inspectors can determine whether a water body is meeting regulatory standards and identify potential pollution sources, leading to more effective management and remediation efforts.

While microbial activity, soil texture, and vegetation cover can provide valuable information regarding the health of an ecosystem and may indirectly relate to water quality, they are not direct indicators of compliance with established water quality standards. Microbial activity can reflect the biological condition of the water, but it does not specifically represent compliance with nutrient-related standards. Soil texture is more relevant to sediment transport and erosion control than to water quality metrics. Vegetation cover can influence runoff and habitat quality, but again, it does not directly assess nutrient levels or other specific pollutants required for evaluating compliance with water quality standards.