1. National water quality monitoring council

2. NWQMC Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI)
Secretary of the Interior Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA)
Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI)
NWQMC

3. Provide national forum for coordination of methods & strategies to improve water quality monitoring, assessment & reporting.

4. Membership Federal Agencies States and Tribes Other Interests
USEPA, USGS, NOAA, USDA (NRCS, USFS), USFWS, NPS, TVA, and USCOE
States and Tribes
States representing USEPA Regions 1- 10
National Tribal Council
Other Interests
Professional Organizations: ACWA, NACWA, NALMS, AASG, WEF, NCASI,
Interstate Organizations-ORSANCO, Great Lakes region, Gulf of Mexico Alliance
Academia-ASLO, CUAHSI
Volunteer Monitoring and Citizen Science Groups

5. NWQMC Purpose Terms of Reference from Advisory Committee on Water Information and ITFM Final Report, 1995
Champion and support water quality information for natural resource management and environmental protection, including consideration of quantity
Coordinate and provide guidance and technical support for implementation of ITFM recommendations
Stimulate monitoring improvements to achieve comparable and scientifically defensible information water quality conditions
Support decision making at local, state, interstate, regional, tribal, national scale

6. Council Terms of Reference Functions and Tasks
Maintain institutional framework
Evaluate progress
Method and data comparability
Data quality and documentation
Information management and sharing
Data elements, codes and reference tables
National assessment
Reporting and public education
Information dissemination
National and international activities

7. Council Goals
Provide a national forum for coordination of comparable and scientifically defensible methods and strategies for improving water quality monitoring, assessment, and reporting.
Bring together scientists, managers, and citizens to ensure information about the quality of our waters is accurate, reliable, and comparable.
Foster collaborative and cost-effective approaches to improve and advance the science of water-quality monitoring.

8. Council Workgroups Working together for clean water
Water Information Strategies Workgroup
Water Quality Portal Workgroup
Methods and Data Comparability Board
Aquatic Sensor Workgroup
Collaboration and Outreach Workgroup
Conference Committee
National Network of Reference Watersheds
Volunteer Monitoring Working Group

9. Water Information Strategies Workgroup Mary Skopec, University of Iowa, Co-Chair Aaron Borisenko, Oregon DEQ, Co-Chair
Fact sheet series – what your manager needs to know about monitoring
Water Data Portal – implement strategy
Increase data submission – Marketing and Training Subgroup
Identify priority data sources not yet serviced by portal
Advertising and messaging for WQP
Develop YouTube videos and tutorials for linking or loading data to the portal
Deploy open source discover and analysis tools to provide incentive to participate in data sharing
Increase data quality – Metadata Standards Subgroup
Promote EPA guidance on best practices for documenting nutrient data
Support EPA data quality workgroups
Water Quality Standards Subgroup
Compile inventory of water quality standards, building on existing efforts
Facilitate increased collaboration among standards, monitoring and assessment efforts
Evaluate Progress Subgroup – explore metrics of progress

10. Water Information Strategies Workgroup
Defines and promotes strategies for monitoring designs
Data management
Data access and exchange
Data integration and analysis
Information reporting
Recent WIS workgroup products include:
NEMI Statistical Methods
Statistical Confidence Illustrator tool
Survey of water-quality indices/report cards
“What your manager needs to know” fact sheet series

11. The Water Quality Portal (WQP)
Data from EPA, USGS, state agencies, volunteer monitoring groups, and USDA Agriculture Research Service
User Friendly Web Interface to locate Water Quality Data
Contains over 150 million records
One convenient location to store and retrieve data

12. Water Quality Portal
The WQP is standalone web-service that allows users to easily download USGS, USEPA, and USDA water- quality data from a single website
The WQP is not an actual database; instead it retrieves data from over 400 local, state, and federal databases (USGS-NWIS, USEPA-STORET, USDA- STEWARDS)
The WQP includes discrete water-quality information only (physical, chemical, biological, and monitoring site metadata)
Data must be organized and formatted using the Water-Quality Exchange (WQX) template

13.
Search over 150 million water-quality records from States, Tribes, USEPA, and USGS
the Water Quality Portal. To effectively address environmental issues, we need monitoring data that are readily available for analysis. We have reached an important milestone that addresses this issue. This week, a single, unified Water Quality Portal is being released and is now available through the Council’s web page.
The Portal is a cooperative service sponsored by the USGS, the EPA, and the Council that integrates publicly available water-quality data from the USGS National Water Information System (called NWIS), and the EPA Modern STORET Data Warehouse. Currently, nearly 200 million results, from over 5 million monitoring locations are currently accessible through the Portal. I strongly encourage everyone to learn about the Portal and how it can help you.

14. Water Quality Portal National Results Coverage

15. 1.4 Billion Water Quality Portal Accomplishments 100 million
Automated Web Retrievals
Downloaded
100 million
Maximum number of
Records downloaded in a single day
4,155 visits from 2,600 users

16. Methods and Data Comparability Board
Methods and Data Comparability Board Dan Sullivan, Chair, USGS Wisconsin Water Science Center
Current activities:
Sensor workgroup
Training
Decontamination issues
Sensor Development
National Environmental Methods Index (NEMI)
Biological Assessment Comparability

17. Aquatic Sensors Workgroup Accomplishments
Illustrated sensor field deployment guide for rivers and streams
Led recent multi-agency JAWRA paper on use and benefits of continuous nitrate sensors
Collaborating w/multiple partners on:
Nitrate Sensor Challenge
Watershed Interoperability Experiment
At the last conference, the sensors workgroup hosted a workshop on megadata; the focus of which was to both understand the source of sensors data, how to manage the data, and how to interpret the data. Much work remains to be done and the group is discussing a project in which case studies would be examined to see the variety of ways that data are currently being used by various entities, to summarize the state of the science, and to begin to solicit ideas and input on other ways or improved ways to interpret large data-dense datasets.
Another project we have been involved in at a couple levels is the Nutrient sensors challenge, an USEPA-led initiative to further the use of sensors in order to more completely monitor and understand the water bodies in the U.S. One effort is the development of a white paper on the current state-of-the-science, while another is a workshop that will be held in September to discuss the specifications for a new type of sensor that is more affordable than the current offerings, and what are the acceptable levels of performance that manufacturers can aim for while attempting to achieve significant reductions in the retail price of sensors.
Finally, we plan to revisit some earlier products of the workgroup and discuss whether revisions to make them more user-friendly will aid a significant portion of the community. At our recent Council meeting, we heard from several members that information on acceptable levels of QA/QC, guidance on appropriate uses, and just better communication of the overall workflow involved in incorporating sensors into a monitoring program, are still needed.

18. Aquatic Sensors Guide QA Matrix Field Deployment Guide
checklist for calibration and record keeping
Field Deployment Guide
setting and maintaining sensors
enhance representativeness and reliability
Sensors Data Elements (or metadata)
who, what, why, when, where, & how
Glossary of Terms

19. Web-based source for environmental monitoring methods
Laboratory
Field
Statistical and analytical
Format allows for easy comparison and contrast of critical method parameters
Full methods are available for download
EPA regulatory status information
Variety of media/matrices (e.g. air, water, soil, sediment, tissues, etc.)

21. National Monitoring Conference
2018 National Monitoring Conference: Kansas City, Missouri April 9th -12th, 2018

22. Conference Committee Alice Mayio, Co-Chair, U. S
Conference Committee Alice Mayio, Co-Chair, U.S. EPA Office of Water Tim Oden, Co-Chair, USGS Colorado Water Science Center
Working Together for Clean Water – 10th National Monitoring Conference Overview from 2016
Over 670 participants from federal, state, tribal, volunteer, industry, academia, and non-governmental organizations
300 presentations, 70 posters, 20 workshops, short courses and panel discussion sessions addressing topics from local to national interest
Continuous monitoring and remote sensing
Algal blooms, nutrients, and other specific water quality issues
Building and sustaining monitoring collaborations
Managing, visualizing, and communicating data and results
Awards recognizing outstanding contributions to monitoring
Elizabeth Jester Fellows Award Recipient: William G. "Bill" Wilber, USGS (ret.)
Barry Alan Long Award Recipient: Faith Zerbe, Delaware Riverkeeper
Vision Award Recipient: Georgia Adopt-A-Stream

23. National Monitoring Conference Accomplishments
By the Numbers:
Ten conferences to date including Tampa
Attendance has ranged from a few hundred (Reno, ) to over 1,050 attendees (Portland, 2012)
Unique mix of professional (federal, state, local) and non-professional (volunteer monitoring) participants
Typical conference as oral presentations and posters, exhibitors, workshops and training sessions, and field trips.
Great networking opportunities and outstanding food!

24. National Network of Reference Watersheds Mike McHale, Chair, USGS New Your Water Science Center
Current status
Available on Council website
Over 2500 watersheds with more than 10 years of flow data
Ability to use pre-defined or customize criteria for reference watershed
Download data for up to 50 watersheds at a time
Focus in 2017
Expansion to look for new users and data contributors
Explore use of new open source tools, data discovery tool and R analytical tools to compile and interpret water quality data in reference watersheds

25. Establishing a National Network of Reference Watersheds for Freshwater Streams
Provide quality-assured data & information for use in understanding effects of land use change, water use, atmospheric deposition, and climate change of freshwater ecosystems.
National Network of Reference Watersheds
This is one of our newest activities, and one that addresses an issue that is important to many of us. And one of the key functions called for in the Council’s terms of reference.
The Council has established an interim executive committee that will develop a blueprint for a collaborative national network of freshwater reference watersheds and monitoring sites.
The network will provide quality-assured data and information for use in understanding effects of land use change, water use, atmospheric deposition, and climate change of freshwater ecosystems.
Big Thompson River
Rocky Mountain National Park

26. National Network of Reference Watersheds Accomplishments
Currently has about 2,500 watersheds w/10 years of flow data
About 500 of these are “core” watersheds
Mostly USGS & EPA sites but seeking partners
WQ data linked to NNRW watersheds via the WQP
The NNRW began in 2011 with the formation of the a Reference Watersheds working group within the National Water Quality Monitoring Council. We have spent the last 3 years developing the concept of the network and a network website that allows users to search a database of reference watersheds and links those searches the NWQMC Water Quality portal to deliver water quality data for network watersheds.

27. Volunteer Monitoring Danielle Donkersloot, Co-Chair, Isaac Walton League Julie Vastine, Co-Chair, Dickinson College
Partnering with communications and outreach group
Website resources for volunteer monitoring, including map of organizations
Webinars for volunteer monitoring and citizen science community
Newsletter articles
Conference committee
Exploring mechanisms for scholarship fund to assist volunteer monitoring participation at conference
Partnering with WIS and Water Quality Portal
Leverage and improve EPA tools for small data owners to share and to retrieve data via the portal
Develop simplified training and assistance

28. Volunteer Monitoring Integration and Support from NWQMC
“How-To” Create and Sustain State and Regional Water Monitoring Councils toolkit available
Development of a Volunteer Monitoring Council
National Directory of Programs
VM Success Stories

29. Volunteer Monitoring Directory
Resources - -including the listserv, newsletter, and publications
Directory
Eleanor Ely
Eleanor Ely, longtime editor of The Volunteer Monitor newsletter, passed away on January 26, She was the driving force behind The Volunteer Monitor – the voice of volunteer monitoring -- from 1990 to She was always eager to share her knowledge, experience, and connections with others, and to help forward the cause of volunteer environmental monitoring. She will be deeply missed.

30. Communications and Outreach Workgroup Candice Hopkins, Co-Chair, USGS Idaho Water Science Center Danielle Donkersloot, Co-Chair, Isaac Walton League
Ongoing communication and outreach
Review Social Media Accounts, e.g. YouTube, and Update Website on a 3 month rotation
Issue bi-annual newsletter
Host webinars
Expand communication to state, tribal, and local monitoring councils
Work on reaching out to the international community
Trainings and Certifications
Group will identify core competencies desired by monitoring community
Identify existing training and certification programs
Explore options to fill gaps
National Assessment
Promote collaboration among federal, state, tribal and other organizations engaged in monitoring and assessment
Highlight findings from complementary national assessments based on federal and state data
Develop key messages focusing on topics of national interest including nutrients, algal blooms and relationship to each other as well as to human health

31. Webinars & YouTube youtube.com/nwqmc
Volunteer Monitoring
Resources - -including the listserv, newsletter, and publications
Directory
Eleanor Ely
Eleanor Ely, longtime editor of The Volunteer Monitor newsletter, passed away on January 26, She was the driving force behind The Volunteer Monitor – the voice of volunteer monitoring -- from 1990 to She was always eager to share her knowledge, experience, and connections with others, and to help forward the cause of volunteer environmental monitoring. She will be deeply missed.
Continuous Monitoring of Nutrients
Water Contaminants Information Tools
Hydrology for Extreme Events

32. National Water Monitoring News: An Online Newsletter for the Water Quality Monitoring Community
Published in the Spring and Fall
Articles from across the nation
Highlights recent accomplishments, developments, and upcoming events

33. To Find Out More… Visit our Website:
acwi.gov/monitoring
Sign up for our webinar announcements, or, sign up for our distribution list
Join our LinkedIn account, and follow us on Twitter
@nwqmc