# Presentation: 332447

## US EPA UpdateAdvisory Committee on Water Information

- Michael Shapiro, Ph.D.
- Deputy Assistant Administrator
- U.S. EPA Office of Water

## Presentation Overview

- National Stream Survey
- Overview of the Environmental Exchange Network
- Office of Water Goals for Water Quality Exchange (WQX)
- 2006 WQX Activities

## Collaborate to Produce Statistically-Valid Assessments

- Focus on key questions:
- To what extent do waters support healthy ecosystems, recreation, fish consumption?
- What are the most significant water quality problems?
- Is water quality improving?
- Are we spending pollution control dollars wisely?
- Promote use of statistically valid assessments at state scale
- Produce scientifically-valid reports on the condition of all waters of the U.S.

## Proposed Schedule for Surveys

- Red-
- Planning

- Yellow-
- Progress

- Green-
- Success

- Annual Output Measure for Monitoring - EPA, with states and other partners will assess and identify trends for 100% of the Nation’s waters by 2018 using statistically-valid surveys to evaluate the extent that waters support the fishable and swimmable goals of the Clean Water Act.  Annual milestones to meet this goal are**:**
**     ****Coastal waters and estuaries**
**     ****Streams and small rivers****	**
**     ****Lakes, ponds, reservoirs **
**     ****Large and great rivers**
**     ****Wetlands**
**     **

**2004**

**2006**

**2009**

**2011**

**2013**

**2007**

**2011**

**2014**

**2016**

**2018**

- 100%

- 19%

- 43%

- 19%

- 8%

- Amount
- Assessed
- in 2000

- Target for        Target for
-    100%              Trends
-  Assessed        of 100%

## Wadeable Streams Assessment

**The States Assess the Nation’s Streams**

- Generate report on the condition
- of streams of the
- U.S. by 3/06
- Build State
- capacity for
- monitoring and
- assessment
- Enhance data
- comparability
- and integration
- of State programs

## Objectives of Assessment 

- Assess the ecological condition of streams nationally and regionally
- Determine the proportion of streams that fall in the three classes of condition ( e.g. good, fair, poor or least-disturbed, moderately-disturbed, and most-disturbed)
- Assess the extent streams affected by key stressors
- Describe associations between stressors and ecological condition

## WSA Basic Framework

- Generate statistically-valid report on the condition of wadeable streams
- Use probability-based survey design
- Complement efforts in Western States
- Focus on consistent measurement of core indicators
- Macroinvertebrates
- Basic chemistry, including nutrients
- Quantitative habitat assessment
- Encourage state cooperators to enhance projects
- State scale survey design
- Additional parameters (fish, periphyton)
- Produce report in March, 2006
- Completed sampling in 2004
- National meeting to refine data analysis and presentation approach
- Completed sample analysis in December 2005

**Notes:**
I try to mention that we came up with this indicators (the use of the EMAP/ western streams methods) after significant deliberation and evaluation of other options.  This path offered the greatest density of monitoring sites because we could focus the sites in the eastern half of the US...

## Purpose of Lakes Survey

- Report on the condition of the Nation’s lakes
- Statistically-valid design so dataset represents the condition of all lakes in regions that share similar ecological characteristics
- Provide _regional_ and _national_ estimates of the condition of lakes, with option for state-scale estimates
- Use consistent sampling and analysis procedures to ensure the results can be compared across the country
- Help build state and tribal capacity for monitoring and assessment
- Promote collaboration across jurisdictional boundaries in the assessment of water quality

## Schedule for Lakes Survey

**Winter 2006** – Will finalize approach to selecting target lakes for the Lakes Survey; will serve as the basis to allocate section 106 funds
**April 26-28, 2006 State Lakes Meeting** in Chicago will focus on the indicators, field protocols and implementation issues
**Summer/Fall 2006** – Develop sampling protocols, lab protocols and QA/QC plans
**Spring 2007** – Training for field crews
**Summer 2007** - Sampling conducted
**2007/2008 **– Sample processing and data analysis
**2009 **– Report on the Condition of the Nation’s Lakes completed

## Water Quality Exchange (WQX)and the National Environmental Information Exchange Network

## Vision Statement

- “*The Exchange Network is a *_*partnership*_* to support better environmental decisions through improved access to, and exchange of, improved environmental information*.”
- The Network vision has three goals:
- better data
- better exchange of information
- better access to information

## What is the Exchange Network?

*An Internet and standards-based method for *
*exchanging environmental information between partners*

-         _Key Components_
- Data Standards
- Nodes
- XML Schema/Registry
- Trading Partner Agreements
- Grant Program

## State Node Implementation ProgressSeptember 2005

**CA**

**OR**

**WA**

**ID**

**MT**

**WY**

**CO**

**NM**

**TX**

**AK**

**HI**

**OK**

**KS**

**SD**

**ND**

**MN**

**IA**

**WI**

**IN**

**OH**

**KY**

**TN**

**MS**

**AL**

**GA**

**FL**

**NC**

**WV**

**PA**

**NY**

**DE**

**CT**

**NH**

**RI**

**IL**

**MO**

**AR**

**LA**

**NV**

**UT**

**AZ**

**OR**

**NM**

**MS**

**WV**

**PA**

**NJ**

**MA**

**NH**

**MD**

- State Node Implementation ProgressSeptember 2005

**DC**

**VA**

**MI**

**NM**

**SC**

**NE**

**VT**

**ME**

**In Development**

**Operational**

**FL**

**Not Yet Started**

| St. Regis Mohawk Tribe |
| --- |

## Goals of Water Quality Exchange

- Reduce the burden on data providers
- Leverage the exchange network via standards based solutions
- Provide web-based data entry applications for small organizations with limited technical staff (tribes and volunteers)
- Develop web services to increase data sharing and re-use
- Provide data analysis tools to track environmental trends and support future strategic plan and PART measures

## WQX Pilot

- Pilot exchange partners – Wind River Reservation, Oregon, Texas, and Michigan

**Notes:**
This figure shows a schematic of the Water Quality Exchange pilot:

The pilot is focused on submittal of physical and chemical water quality data to EPA via the exchange network. 

Pilot participants:  Wind River Reservation, Oregon, Texas, and Michigan

Steps involved:

development of a pilot schema based on the Environmental Sampling, Analysis and results (ESAR) data standardPilot partners map the pilot “ESAR” schema
Pilot partners map pilot schema to their data base
Submittal of data to EPA via the exchange network
Business rule and valid value checking
Loading of approved XML submissions to the pilot operational data store
Test of changes and deletes to data previously submitted to EPA via the exchange network

Results to date:
Oregon successfully submitted 15,000 test results.  Oregon was also successful in submitting changes and deletes to data submitted using the pilot schema.
Michigan is resolving technical issues with their node.  They hope to be able to submit data before the end of January
The Wind River Reservation is also working towards submittal data to EPA using the Pilot schema.
Texas is in the process of developing a water quality monitoring database.  They have used the pilot as an opportunity to align their database with the ESAR schema.

## 2006 WQX Activities

- Complete pilot evaluation, and determine lessons learned
- Outreach to additional data partners to further refine the schema
- Establish operational data flow for physical and chemical data by 1/2007
- Continue working with USGS to map WQX and NWIS into common XML schema and develop web services to facilitate data sharing
- Begin developing Web-based data entry tools

**Notes:**
EPA is also working with USGS to further align WQX and NWIS.  This will allow a common schema for data to be shared between USGS and EPA.