Water Quality/BASINS Mid-Project Update Tony Vessa Nov. 19, 2002

Project Goals Better understand GIS tools in water quality assessment Understand City of Austin’s impact on water quality on the Lower Colorado River Full utilization of the EPA BASINS 3.0 software

http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/basins/

BASINS Objectives To facilitate examination of environmental information To support analysis of environmental systems To provide a framework for examining management alternatives

BASINS Benefits specific to GIS Data subdivided into familiar HUCs Data completely compatible with ArcGIS Provides shapefiles for basemaps projected in NAD1927 Provides various downloadable data for environmental analysis

Hydrologic Unit Code

Austin, TX Hydrologic Unit ^ _ HUC 12090205 Austin Austin, TX Hydrologic Unit

Data Available HUC/State/EPA/ County Boundaries Urban Boundaries Drinking Water Supplies Weather Stations Data TRI Data CERCLIS(Superfund) River Reach Files Major Roads Ecoregions (level III) NAWQA Study Units Mineral Data Water Quality Observation Stations digital elevation maps RCRIS Sites

Area Designations

City Attributes

Point Stations

Water Quality Data Temp Spec Conductance DO, BOD Alkalinity, Hardness Nutrients (Nit, Pho) Hardness Chloride Metals (Cr, Cu, Pb, Ca, Fe, Ni, Ag, Zn, Al) Chlordane Chlorophyll DDE, DDT Eldrin/Dieldrin Heptachlor Pcbs Mercury Sulfate

Water Quality Statistics 4 Year Increments Station ID Agency ID Number of Observations Mean 15th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 85th Percentiles Standard Deviation

Water Quality Criteria Parameter Name CAS Number Fresh Acute/Chronic Marine Acute/Chronic Drinking Water Human Health Reference Level Source

Wrap Up BASINS -one stop shopping Project Direction Questions????