ABSTRACT:Two sampling strategies designed to test for compliance with water quality objectives are examined. For objectives based on long‐term mean requirements, fixed frequency sampling at frequent intervals is most advantageous regardless of the underlying distribution of the data. For objectives that are based on maximum allowable concentrations, effective sampling strategies increase the likelihood of detecting noncompliance.If data are highly autocorrelated or sharply seasonal in distribution, an exceedance‐driven sampling strategy is more effective and efficient for detecting violations than fixed frequency sampling. However, data generated by exceedance‐driven sampling provide biased estimates of mean and standard devi