| Office of Water Program |
Program Database |
Description |
| Water Quality Standards |
WQSDB |
The Water Quality Standards Database (WQSDB) contains
information on the uses that have been designated for waterbodies. Examples of
such uses are: drinking water supply, recreation, and fish protection. As part
of a State's water quality standards, these designated uses provide a regulatory
goal for the waterbody and define the level of protection assigned to it. WQS
also includes the scientific criteria to support that use. |
Integrated Reporting
305(b) Report and
303(d) List |
ATTAINS |
The Assessment, TMDL Tracking and ImplementatioN System (ATTAINS) database
contains information reported by the states to EPA about the conditions in their surface waters.
The database is comprised of information on the attainment of water quality standards, sometimes
referred to as the Clean Water Act Section 305(b) information; as well as the list of impaired waters
that need a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), sometimes referred to as the
Clean Water Act Section 303(d) List. ATTAINS is a combination of what was formerly referred
to as the National Assessment Database (NAD) and the National TMDL Tracking System (NTTS).
|
Water Quality Inventory
305(b) Report |
NAD |
The National Assessment Database (NAD) contains
information on the attainment of water quality standards. Assessed waters are
classified as either Fully Supporting, Threatened, or Not Supporting their
designated uses. This information is reported in the National Water Quality
Inventory Report to Congress under Section 305(b) of the Clean Water Act. |
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)
303(d) List |
TMDL Tracking System |
The Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Tracking System
contains information on waters that are Not Supporting their designated uses.
These waters are listed by the state as impaired under Section 303(d) of
the Clean Water Act. The status of TMDLs are also tracked. TMDLs are pollution
control measures that reduce the discharge of pollutants into impaired waters. |
| Water Quality Monitoring |
STORET
|
STORET (short for STOrage and RETrieval) is a
repository for water quality, biological, and physical data and is used by state
environmental agencies, EPA and other federal agencies, universities, private
citizens, and many others. The Legacy Data Center, or LDC, contains historical
water quality data dating back to the early part of the 20th century and collected
up to the end of 1998. |
| NPDES Permits
|
PCS
|
Discharge of pollutants into waters of the United States
is regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES), a mandated provision of the Clean Water Act. To assist with the
regulation process, state and federal regulators use an information management
system called the Permit Compliance System (PCS). PCS stores data about
NPDES facilities, permits, compliance status, and enforcement activities for up
to six years. |
| Safe Drinking Water
|
SDWIS
|
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires that states
report to EPA information about public water systems and their violations of
EPA's drinking water regulations. These regulations, and their enabling statutes,
establish maximum contaminant levels, treatment techniques, and monitoring and
reporting requirements to ensure that water provided to customers is safe for
human consumption. This information is stored in SDWIS - Safe Drinking Water
Information System. |
| Fish Consumption Advisories
|
NLFWA
|
The National Listing of Fish and Wildlife Advisories
(NLFWA) database includes all available information describing state-, tribal-,
and federally-issued fish consumption advisories in the United States and Canada. |
| Nonpoint Source Pollution
|
GRTS
|
The Section 319 Grants Reporting and Tracking System
(GRTS) is the main reporting vehicle for the Section
319 program. GRTS enables
EPA and States to describe the progress they have made in implementing the
national Nonpoint Source (NPS) Pollution program. GRTS electronically
tracks projects and activities funded with CWA Section 319(h) funds. |
| Nutrient Criteria
|
Nutrient Criteria Database
|
The Nutrient Criteria Database stores and analyzes
nutrient water quality data, which will aid in the development of scientifically
defensible numeric nutrient criteria. The ultimate use of the data is to derive
ecoregional waterbody-specific numeric nutrient criteria.
|
| BEACH program |
BEACH Watch |
The Beaches Environmental Assessment, Closure & Health
BEACH Watch database provides information on whether a specific beach is
being monitored for water quality, who is responsible for the monitoring, the
pollutants that are being monitored, and if advisories or closures have been issued.
|
| Vessel Sewage Discharge
|
NDZ
|
Vessel sewage discharge is regulated under Clean Water Act
Section 312, which mandates the use of marine sanitation devices (on-board equipment
for treating and discharging or storing sewage) on all commercial and recreational
vessels that are equipped with installed toilets. Under Section 312 States may
request a No-Discharge Zone (NDZ) designation that prohibits the discharge
of sewage from all vessels into defined waters. |
| Clean Watersheds Needs Survey
|
CWNS
|
The Clean Watersheds Needs Survey (CWNS) provides information on publicly-owned wastewater
collection and treatment facilities, facilities for control of sanitary sewer
overflows (SSOs), combined sewer overflows (CSOs), stormwater control activities,
nonpoint sources, and programs designed to protect the nation's estuaries.
Information obtained from the survey is maintained in the CWNS database. |
