Water Quality Standards Advisory Committee

Water quality standards are used to protect the state’s surface waters. Standards consist of three parts: designated uses, such as fishing or swimming; numerical or narrative criteria to protect the designated uses; and an antidegradation policy, which maintains existing high quality water that exceeds the criteria. Criteria are established by statute and by administrative rules.

The Water Quality Standards Advisory Committee (WQSAC) exists to facilitate public input, solicit advice and provide a forum for the discussion of focused surface water quality standards issues. You can review the committee’s plans and publications below:

• Plan to Generate PFAS Surface Water Quality Standards.
• Committee Organizational Principles.
• Assessment of Chlorophyll-a and Phosphorus in New Hampshire Lakes for Nutrient Criteria Development (January 2009).
• Numeric Nutrient Criteria for the Great Bay Estuary (June 2009).
• Joint Report of Peer Review Panel for Numeric Nutrient Criteria for the Great Bay Estuary (February 13, 2014).
• Independent Peer Review of Nutrient Criteria Proposal for the Great Bay Estuary.

Documents from Meetings

WQSAC was established in the fall of 2000 to assist the agency in drafting revised water quality regulations. In addition to the formal membership, all WQSAC meetings are open to the public with full participation in the discussion of issues of interest. You can view documents from meetings by selecting from any of the meeting dates below:

• November 4, 2021
• July 8, 2021
• January 14, 2021
• October 1, 2020
• April 9, 2020
• December 6, 2019
• July 25, 2019
• April 11, 2019
• October 11, 2018
• April 12, 2018
• January 11, 2018

Meeting archives

If you need accommodations for any of the WQSAC meeting documents, please contact us.