The Watershed Assistance Section administers Watershed Assistance Grants to support local projects that help control nonpoint source pollution. The funding for these grants comes from the US Environmental Protection Agency under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. Any project funded by EPA that involves the collection, analysis, or manipulation of environmental data requires a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP). The QAPP must be approved by DES and EPA prior to commencement of work.
The purpose of the QAPP is to identify the type, quantity, and quality of data necessary to provide defensible, measurable results, and to verify project success. In addition, projects that involve only non-monitoring environmental data, such as the use of pollutant load reduction models or engineering calculations, require an abbreviated QAPP. Abbreviated QAPPs must be approved by DES.
The amount of time it takes to develop, write, and have a QAPP approved by DES and EPA is typically between – four and 12 months. A typical QAPP development schedule is shown in the QAPP Process Time Table 
. The time frame largely depends on the initiative of the grant recipient to write and revise the QAPP. Once EPA has approved the QAPP, data collection work may begin. Organizations planning to conduct data collection (for example, water quality monitoring) as part of their project should plan for up to one year of lag time between proposal submittal and the start of monitoring.
Guidance Documents
There are two primary EPA guidance documents for preparing QAPPs, one for volunteer monitors and one for professional organizations. Depending on your association, you should use one of the following documents to prepare your QAPP.
- The Volunteer Monitor's Guide to QAPPs, EPA 841-B-96-003, Sept. 1996.
- EPA Requirements for Quality Assurance Project Plans (EPA QA/R-5), EPA/240/B-01/003, March 2001. Contact DES for a hard copy.
Biological monitoring may need supplemental guidance documents, and will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
QAPP Templates
DES has several templates available to grant recipients to assist in the preparation of QAPPs. All QAPPs received by the Watershed Assistance Section should be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word format, via e-mail or CD, using one the following templates:
- For projects collecting environmental data (sampling/monitoring):
The Full QAPP Template Instructions
The Full QAPP Template - For projects using non-monitoring environmental data, i.e., pollutant load reduction analysis:
The Abbreviated QAPP Template Instructions
The Abbreviated QAPP Template
- For projects following generic QAPPs the following Site Specific Project Plan (SSPP) or Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) should be used:
- Site Specific Project Plan for Stream Morphology Projects
- Sampling and Analysis Plan for Microbial Source Tracking
- Other
For projects using generic QAPPs other than those mentioned in a or b above, the Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) or Site Specific Project Plan (SSPP) formats should be provided by the assigned DES Project Manager.
- Site Specific Project Plan for Stream Morphology Projects
Example QAPPs
In addition to the QAPP templates, DES has the following approved QAPPs available to assist in the development of your QAPP.
Generic QAPPs
The following QAPPs are generic QAPPs that act as an umbrella for individual projects being conducted in accordance with standards and procedures documented in the generic QAPPs. These projects must complete individual project Sampling and Analysis Plans (SAPs) or Site Specific Project Plans (SSPPs) to be approved by DES. These generic QAPPs may also be used to assist in the development of additional generic program QAPPs.
- Generic Quality Assurance Project Plan for Microbial Source Tracking - NHDES, October 2004.
- Generic Quality Assurance Project Plan for Stream Morphology Data Collection, - Provan & Lorber, Inc., July 2003.
- Main body of the QAPP
- Appendix A: Stream Channel Reference Sites: An Illustrated Guide to Field Technique
- Appendix B : Calibrating Bankfull Discharge at USGS Stream Gaging Stations
- Appendix C : The Reference Reach: A Blueprint for Channel Design
- Appendix D: Representative Pebble Count Procedures
- Appendix E : Plan View Analysis
- Appendix F : Cross-Section and Longitudinal Profile
- Appendix G : Bar/Bulk Sampling Methods
- Appendix H : Reference Reach Data Analysis Forms
- Appendix I : Stream Classification Charts
- Appendix J : Glossary
Site Specific Project Plans Under the Generic QAPP for Stream Morphology Data Collection
- Suncook River Avulsion, Epsom, NH Geomorphology-based Alternatives Evaluation
Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. August 2007.
- Mill Brook Restoration Plan
Connecticut River Joint Commissions. May 2007.
- Lower Mohawk River Restoration Plan
Connecticut River Joint Commissions. January 2007.
- Fluvial Geomorphic Assessment of the Northern Connecticut River Tributaries
Connecticut River Joint Commissions. December 2005
- Bank Stabilization of the Northern Connecticut River Tributaries
Connecticut River Joint Commissions. October 2005
Site Specific QAPPs
The following site specific QAPPs may be used to assist in the development of your QAPP.
- Newfound Lake Watershed Assessment
University of New Hampshire Center for Freshwater Biology and UNH Cooperative Extension. June 2007.- Appendices : Standard Operating Procedures
- Appendices
- City of Keene Escherichia coli Impairment Investigation and Remediation, and Habitat Restoration Plan for Beaver Brook
City of Keene Public Works Department. June 2007.
- Exeter River Unified Stream Assessment
NHDES. April 2007- Appendix A : Stream Assessment Field Forms
- Appendix A
- Mendums Pond Watershed Assessment
University of New Hampshire Center for Freshwater Biology and UNH Cooperative Extension. September 2006.- Appendices A-E : Standard Operating Procedures
- Appendix F : Project Maps
- Appendices A-E
- Webster/Highland Lake Watershed Management Plan
Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. May 2006.
- Beaver Lake Watershed Assessment
Gomez and Sullivan Engineers, P.C. April 2006.
- Pennichuck Watershed Restoration Project
Comprehensive Environmental Inc. January 2006.
- Ashuelot River Continuity Assessment
The Nature Conservancy, NH Chapter. November 2005.- Main body of the QAPP
- Appendix A : NH Dam Field Form
- Appendix B : Culvert Field Data Form
- Appendix C : Instructions for Field Data Form
- Appendix D : Photo Documentation Standard Operating Procedure
- Appendix E : Culvert Flow Chart
- Main body of the QAPP
- Lake Horace Marsh Restoration Project
Piscataquog River Association. August 2005.- Appendix A : Site Map
- Appendix B1 : Wildlife Sightings Form
- Appendix B2 : Water Level Measurement Form
- Appendix A
- Perkins Pond Diagnostic Study
NHDES. March 2005.
- Nutrient Management Plans
UNH Cooperative Extension. January 2004.
- Tributary Monitoring in the Winnipesaukee Watershed
Lake Winnipesaukee Association. December 2003.
Appendices available upon request.
- NH Stream Communities Classification
University of New Hampshire, Department of Natural Resources. October 2003.
- Ossipee Lake and Tributaries Water Quality Monitoring Program QAPP
Green Mountain Conservation Group and Ossipee Lake Alliance. August 2003.
- Seabrook Stormwater Verification Project QAPP
UNH Jackson Estuarine Laboratory. July, 2003.
- Chocorua Lake Watershed Project
University of New Hampshire Center for Freshwater Biology. March 2003.
- Mill Pond/Mine Falls Restoration Project – Phase II
Nashua Regional Planning Commission. November 2002.
- Littleton Stormwater Drainage System Mapping and Modeling
Town of Littleton. November 2002.
- Rust Pond Diagnostic Study
NHDES. November 2002.
- Piscataquog River Riparian Restoration
St. Anslem College Biology Department, Piscataquog Watershed Association. February 2002.
- Mill Pond/Mine Falls Restoration Project – Phase I
Nashua Regional Planning Commission. May 2000.
- Pennichuck Brook Urban Runoff Monitoring Program
Nashua Regional Planning Commission. February 2000.
Abbreviated QAPPs
- Boscawen Car-top Canoe Launch
NHDES. November 2006.
- Acton Wakefield Watersheds Alliance Youth Conservation Corps
NHDES. July 2006.
For more example QAPPs, go to the EPA Region 1 Web site at www.epa.gov/region01/measure/qapp_examples/index.html.
For more information on QAPPs, contact Jillian McCarthy, DES Watershed Assistance Section, at (603) 271-8475 or jillian.mccarthy@des.nh.gov.
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