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:

•   Pesticide Levels Decline in Corn Belt Rivers
•  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.

USGS Quality Assurance for Water-Quality Activities

Laboratory quality assurance and quality control

• Branch of Quality Systems (BQS)
  • Laboratory Evaluation Program
  • Standard Reference Water Samples
  • Sediment laboratory quality-assurance project
• National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL)
  • NQWL quality assurance & systems
• Ohio Water Microbiology Laboratory
• Mercury Research Laboratory

Field quality assurance and quality control

• USGS National Field Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data incorporates and specifies USGS quality-assurance protocols throughout each chapter. Specific topics include:
  • Chapter 1: Section 1.1.2 addresses data-quality plans and preparations
  • Chapter 4: Section 4.0 addresses preventing sample contamination, good field practices, and clean hands/dirty hands techniques
  • Chapter 4: Section 4.3 addresses quality control for environmental sampling
• National Field Quality Assurance Program