EPA Research Partner Support Story: Storing and Sharing Biological Data in EPA’s Water Quality Exchange
Partners: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Utah DEQ, Wyoming DEQ
Challenge: Storing and sharing biological data in EPA’s Water Quality Exchange (WQX)
Resource: A series of virtual workshops and a best practices manual
Project Period: 2024 – Present
Diatoms are single-celled algae that serve as excellent biological indicators of water quality because they are found everywhere and respond to a variety of environmental stressors (e.g., pH, salinity, nutrients). State environmental programs have invested substantial resources to collect diatom samples from streams, rivers, and lakes. However, states have faced challenges with storing and sharing diatom data to EPA’s national database (the Water Quality Exchange, WQX).
“Access to readily interpretable information has prevented diatoms from being used more broadly in resource management programs, and these efforts to address this will go a long way toward making the information useful for everyone…We have made more progress in leveraging our diatom data to inform decisions over the last year working with [EPA] than we have in the previous 20 years that I have been at DWQ.” – Utah DEQ Division of Water Quality, Nutrient Reduction Program Coordinator Jeff Ostermiller
To address these challenges, EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) held a series of virtual workshops to work with partners to develop best practices for diatom data submission to WQX. Workshop participants included EPA’s Office of Water and Region 8 (Mountains and Plains), the states of Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming, as well as the U.S. Geological Survey and invited subject matter experts. Participants met to develop a regionally consistent approach for submitting diatom data and associated data quality documentation to WQX. They also developed a consistent method for registering new diatom names.
The best practices manual and updated taxonomy developed through these workshops will make it easier for other states, local organizations, academics, and other WQX data providers and users to share and analyze diatom data. This data is essential to assess water quality and for states to use diatom data for water quality monitoring and assessment.
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