Cuyahoga AOC delisting measurements and status
“Delisting” is how we refer to full restoration of the Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) in the Cuyahoga River Area of Concern (AOC) to designated target levels, so that they can be removed from the list of impairments and so that eventually the AOC can be “Delisted” from the USEPA’s list of degraded waterways.
The Beneficial Use Impairments have been set by the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) and the targets are set by Ohio EPA using state regulations, policies or guidance.
Of the 10 impairments charged to the Cuyahoga AOC, 5 have been removed. Click here for a list of all impairments and their status.
To see the attainment status by either BUI or subwatershed, go to the appropriate page by hovering over one of the menus below and clicking on the item.
WHAT DO THE ACRONYMS MEAN?
The following measures for evaluating the biological criteria, and the evaluation indices for each, are used to set the goals for delisting.
To gauge how close we are to meeting the delisting target for a given impairment, we collect the scores for the applicable index and compare them
to the target scores.
The 3 “Aquatic Life Use” BUIs with designated watershed-wide data points include the metrics below, they will be referenced throughout this site respectively:
BUI 14a “Loss of Fish Habitat”:
QHEI: Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index – scores a variety of physical conditions in a stream segment, such as bed material, bank erosion, pools and riffles, cover and shape of the stream to evaluate habitat.
BUI 3a “Fish Populations”:
IBI: Index of Biotic Integrity – uses a dozen metrics to measure the number of fish in a sample, the species diversity, pollution tolerance, and other factors to evaluate fish populations.
MIwb: Modified Index of well being measures the numbers, biomass and diversity of species but excludes pollution tolerant species that could survive anywhere, to give a better evaluation of fish populations of species that need higher water and stream quality.
BUI6: “Benthos (Macroinvertabrates)”:
ICI: Invertebrate Community Index – uses ten metrics to measure the health of insects and non-insect invertebrates in the stream to evaluate benthos (life in the stream bed.)