Basic Course: Key Concepts (Module 3.d)

Criteria Basis: Scientific and Expert Judgment

All limits on pollutants or conditions adopted as water quality criteria should be based on the latest scientific data and expert judgment. Criteria should be revised from time to time as new scientific data or methodologies are developed.

Key Point. Factors such as technological feasibility, social and economic costs, and the benefits of achieving criteria levels are considered in a preceding step in which a water body's designated uses are established. Thus, these factors are NOT directly involved in the process of developing water quality criteria.