Water Quality Standards

Water quality standards are benchmarks established to assess whether the quality of Oregon's rivers and lakes is adequate for fish and other aquatic life, recreation, drinking, agriculture, industry and other uses. Water quality standards are also regulatory tools used by the State Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prevent pollution of our waters. States are required to adopt water quality standards by the federal Clean Water Act. States submit their standards to EPA for approval.  For more background on water quality standards, see the Water Quality Standards fact sheet.