Noteworthy

Call for Papers:

•  National Water Quality Monitoring Council - National Monitoring Conference, April 2010

Local Science Feature:

•  Algal Toxins in Recreational Waters (350KB PDF)

National & Regional Science:

•  Study Reveals Mercury Contamination in Fish Nationwide
•  Tackling Fish Endocrine Disruption

Past listings...

Water Quality Data

National Water Information System (NWIS)

• NWIS provides current and historical water-quality data.

Today's Water Conditions

• Water-Quality Watch provides continuous real-time water-quality measurements.
  

Water-Quality Web Services

• Web services automate the sharing of USGS and USEPA water-quality monitoring data.

For More Data

• Additional water-quality data resources are available.

USGS in Your Area

USGS Water Science Centers are located in each state.

Water-Quality Data

• USGS Water-Quality Data
• Additional USGS Water-Resources Data
• Other Sources of Water-Quality and Related Data

USGS Water-Quality Data

USGS Online Water-Quality Data (NWIS)

The USGS collects and analyzes chemical, physical, and biological properties of water, sediment and tissue samples from across the Nation. The National Water Information System (NWIS) includes current and historical water-quality data and related summary statistics.

WaterQuality Watch

Water-Quality Watch provides continuous real-time water-quality measurements from USGS surface-water monitoring locations.

Water-Quality Web Services

Web services automate the sharing of USGS and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency water-quality monitoring data.

National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA)

The NAWQA Program investigates the status of water-quality conditions and studies how and why these conditions change over time. Most NAQWA data are included in NWIS, but additional data products and databases are available:

• NAWQA Data Warehouse, which includes chemical, biological, and physical water-quality data from across the Nation.
• National maps, which summarize particular data sets or investigations from featured NAWQA activities.

National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN)

The NASQAN Program reports on concentrations and loads of selected constituents delivered by major rivers to coastal waters and selected inland sub-basins.

National Atlas - Water

National Atlas map layers include some datasets for water quality in the United States, viewable online or downloadable as GIS data sets.

National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP)

The USGS is the lead federal agency for the monitoring of chemical constituents deposited from the atmosphere via rain, sleet, and snow, also known as wet atmospheric deposition. The NADP monitors wet atmospheric deposition at over 250 sites throughout the Nation.

Hydrologic Benchmark Network (HBN)

The HBN program collects data from a long-term network of sites located in areas that are minimally affected by human activities. Links are provided to access water-quality data from individual network sites.

USGS Annual Water Data Reports

Water resources data can be accessed through annual summary reports or an interactive map. These archival products supplement direct access to current and historical water data provided by NWISWeb.

Water-Quality Data by State

USGS Water Science Centers located across the United States may have additional information or resources for local water-quality data. Visit your local USGS Water Science Center web site for more information.

Back to table of contents.

Additional USGS Water-Resources Data

Water Data Discovery

The Water Data Discovery web site provides an overview of all USGS water-resources data.

Suspended-Sediment Database

The Suspended-Sediment Database provided daily values of suspended sediment and ancillary data through September 30, 1996. More current data are included in NWIS.

USGS Water Data Web Services & XML

USGS provides machine-readable water data through automated web services and Extensible Markup Language (XML).

Water Resources Maps and GIS Information

The Maps and GIS page provides a list of water-resources GIS resources.

USGS Groundwater Watch

The Groundwater Watch web sites group related wells and data from National Water Information System (NWIS) active well networks and provide basic statistics about the water-level data.

Interdisciplinary Water Quality Data

Studies conducted by other USGS disciplines may also include the collection of water-quality data. For information on additional data available, refer to the Geology Discipline data page or the National Biological Information Infrastructure Data & Tools section.

Back to table of contents.

Other Sources of Water-Quality and Related Data

Government Data

• Data.gov: high value, machine readable U.S. Government datasets.
• GeoData.gov: your one stop for finding and using U.S. geographic data.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Databases: central page linking to all online USEPA data and databases.
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center: the world's largest active archive of climate data.
• Department of Energy (DOE) Data Explorer: multidisciplinary scientific data from DOE-sponsored research.
• California Department of Pesticide Registration's Databases: pesticide information databases including chemical ingredients, volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, and more.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Water Quality Information Center Databases: online databases that may be related to water and agriculture.
• National Park Service (NPS) Water Quality Program: NPS data and information on the quality of water in national parks.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Water-Related Data and Statistics: CDC water-related data on biomonitoring, health, outbreaks, environmental tracking, and more.
• U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Research & Development - Information/Publications Center: USFS data and information on water, soils, plants, and insects.

International Water-Quality Data Resources

• Water Survey of Canada: Canada's National Water Quantity Survey Program data products and services.
• La Comisión Nacional del Agua (CONAGUA), Mexico: administration and management of Mexico's water resources.
• Environment Agency, UK: UK environmental data and statistics.
• UN-Water Statistics: United Nations graphs and maps of water use, quality, and other factors.

Back to table of contents.