# Presentation: 749208

## USGS Water Quality Programsand theWater Quality Monitoring Framework

- <date/time>

- USGS Water Quality Programsand theWater Quality Monitoring Framework

- CONTACTS:

- Herb Buxton
- _[hbuxton](mailto:Hbuxton@usgs.gov)__[@usgs.gov](mailto:Hbuxton@usgs.gov)_
- (609) 771-3944

- Tim Miller
- _[tlmiller@usgs.gov](mailto:tlmiller@usgs.gov)_
- (703) 648-6868

## Monitoring Objectives and Support 

- _Assessment_: Understanding Water-Quality Conditions by connecting monitoring data to land activities and natural conditions (ancillary data provides the context and causal factors).
- _Research & Development_: Evaluates New Issues and Develops New Methods, Tools and Capabilities (keeps monitoring activities evolving to remain useful).

- Monitoring Objectives and Support

## Develop Monitoring Objectives: In the Mississippi River Basin, where do nutrients originate, and how do they move to the Gulf of Mexico, influencing hypoxia?  

- Nutrient Sources & Loads Contributing to Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia.

## Collect Field and Laboratory Data

- USGS methods and protocols are available on the internet.
- Laboratory methods are being added to the NEMI for use by all organizations
- Training courses are available to other cooperating agencies
- Coordination is done at local and national levels.

## USGS Infrastructure Supports Field and Lab Data, also Compiling and Managing Data

- National protocols to collect samples for trace analysis, provides environmental information other organizations typically do not have.
- A National team of professional field technicians collect samples for many organizations reducing duplication and ensuring consistent data collection.
- Laboratory methods measuring trace levels with supporting quality assurance, demonstrates the quality of analytical data.
- Regional and National-scale monitoring networks provide perspectives not duplicated by the states or other federal agencies.
- Long-term field research sites develop new tools applied to monitoring efforts of the future.
- The National Water Information System (NWIS) contains comparable data from across the nation, and has full public access.

##  USGS Provides Data and Links on the Internet 

- Data for more than 1.4 million sites available from USGS.
- More than 63 million analytical results using consistent methods.
- Data quality verified before public release.
- Meta data developed using the Water Quality Data Elements (WQDE) thru the National Monitoring Council.

## Assess and Interpret Data:

- Arsenic in Ground Water—Mining the USGS NWIS Database

- _Well Summary_
- USGS 	20,000
- _States__	__10,000_
- Total	30,000

## NAWQA—Assessing Data

**NAWQA—Assessing Data**
**Water Quality & Management Relevance**

**Notes:**
Data on nitrate use and occurrence in ground water are combined with data on soil and aquifer characteristics to produce a national map showing the risk of nitrate occurrence in ground water.

## Regulation by USEPA 

**Toxic Substances Hydrology Program **
**(TOXICS)**
**Management Relevance—Pesticide **
**Regulation by USEPA**

## Convey Findings—Professional publications, news releases, interested party review

## Collaborate Communicate & Coordinate

- Participate in and funding for National Water Quality Monitoring Council (Methods Board, WQDE, NEMI), and USGS has co-sponsored the biannual NWQMC Conference for 5 years.
- NAWQA has over 50 liaison committees, involving more than 1000 organizations and individuals.
- Through the Federal Cooperative Program, USGS collaborates with more than 1400 agencies, providing consistent methods and data, and eliminating potential duplication of efforts.