Laboratories -
What to provide to USGS...

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Lab Data Archive

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts many water-quality projects that determine the quality of our nation's waters. The projects vary in scope, from determining exceedances of water quality standards for specific analytes to quantifying background concentrations in pristine watersheds. USGS water-quality projects must ensure data-collection methods, including laboratory analyses, are appropriate to each particular study.

The selection of a laboratory for USGS project use is determined by assessing laboratory performance using applicable methods for analytes of interest within a specific concentration range.

Laboratories must disclose the following information to USGS for each analyte/method pair: reporting level, method detection level, analytical concentration ranges, percent relative standard deviation (%RSD) or mean percent recovery (% Recovery), and the concentration(s) of the quality control (QC) samples used to determine %RSD or % Recovery.

Most importantly though, we require current tabulated proficiency test sample data (blind) for each analyte/method pair requested, that support your ability to perform adequately within these limits.

Laboratories should provide recent proficiency test sample results (blind) for each analyte requested by USGS. These data may be garnered from (in order of decreasing utility): double-blind samples, single-blind samples (round robins), and internal blind samples. If you do not have these data, please contact the USGS project chief at your earliest convenience.

Thank you for supporting USGS projects.

Required Information

Analytical Range
Reporting Level
Method Detection Level
QC Sample Concentration
An Estimate of Variability

Required DATA

Double-blind test samples
and/or
Single-blind test samples
and/or
Proficiency Test Samples
and/or
Internal blind samples.

If none of the above blind sample types are available for any one or more of the analytes requested by USGS, please notify the USGS project chief at your earliest convenience. USGS requires blind sample results for laboratory assessment, therefore arrangements must be made to acquire these data.