Activities of the National Water

Quality Monitoring

CouncilGail Mallard, USGSNWQMC Meeting

Phoenix, AZ, December 10, 2002

The U.S. National Water Quality Monitoring Council (NWQMC) was established in 1998

“ to provide a national forum to coordinate consistent and scientifically defensible methods and strategies for improving water quality monitoring, assessment, and reporting ”

Why do we monitor?

Describe status and trends

Describe and rank existing and emerging problems

Design management and regulatory programs

Respond to emergencies

From the Final Report of the Intergovernmental Task Force on Monitoring (1995)

A framework for water-quality monitoring is needed

To provide a systematic approach to the monitoring process

To promote comparability and collaboration between and within programs and organizations

To guide National and regional Council efforts

Proposed National Monitoring Framework

Applying the framework

Identify and understand the monitoring considerations associated with each of the framework elements

Develop tools and provide information to facilitate use of the framework elements

Demonstrate effectiveness of the tools– resources (time and money) saved– Better management decisions

National Monitoring Council framework products

National Monitoring Inventories Technical Reports on Monitoring Issues National Monitoring Conferences Comparability Assessments Water Quality Data Elements (WQDEs) National Environmental Methods Index

(NEMI) Environmental Monitoring and

Measurement Advisor (EMMA) Regional Monitoring Councils

State and Federal monitoring inventories

Document the status of monitoring programs

Identify key enhancements needed Quantify the costs of enhanced

(sufficient) monitoring programs Identify useful procedures, formats, or

approaches that can contribute to greater program efficiencies or collaboration

Use the results to support stronger State and Federal monitoring programs and partnerships

National Monitoring Conferences

July 1998, Reno, NV – “Monitoring: Critical Foundations to protect our Future”

April 2000, Austin, TX – “Monitoring for the Millenium”

May, 2000, Madison, WI – “Building a Framework for the Future”

May 12 – 16, 2002, Chatanooga, TN – something like – “Applying the Framework”

Promote regional monitoring conferences in the off years

About the conferences

Include workshops, presentations, posters, field trips, and vendor displays focused on elements of the monitoring framework

Include focused thematic discussion sessions

Hope to make all proceedings papers and presentations available on-line as supporting information for the various framework elements

Conferences result in recommendations to the Council

Core Water Quality Data Elements (WQDEs)

Most important information about data (meta data) needed to answer the basic questions to facilitate data exchange:

Who? (Who conducted the sampling?)

What? (What was monitored and found?)

Why? (Why was the monitoring done?)

When? (When was the monitoring done?)

Where? (Where was the monitoring done?)

How? (How was the sampling done?)

Benefits of using a common set of WQDEs

Provide the basis for common data management documentation

Allows data sharing with confidence

Results are more readily comparable

Facilitates more effective and economical use of monitoring resources at all levels

National Environmental Methods Index (NEMI)

NEMI is a web-based, searchable compendium containing method summaries of field and lab protocols

physical

chemical

biological

radiochemicalmicrobiological

NEMI’s relationship to the framework

– The NEMI database ensures that the consideration of field and measurement methods plays an active role in the planning and implementation phases of a program

– NEMI data fields include detection levels, bias, precision, and other QA/QC requirements necessary for documenting and reporting on data quality

NEMI Information Sources

Over 600 Method summaries from various sources:– Environmental Protection Agency -

235– U.S. Geological Survey - 149 – Department of Energy - 32– American Society for Testing and

Materials (ASTM) - 75– AOAC (formerly the Association of

Official Analytical Chemists) - 8– Standard Methods - 59– Private Companies - 43

Where to Find NEMI

www.nemi.gov

What is the Environmental Monitoring and Measurement Advisor (EMMA) ? EMMA is a prototype expert

system

– Designed to ensure that all critical questions are asked during the planning of an environmental monitoring program.

– When specific answers are available they are given.

– When specific answers are not available then advice on how to get them is given.

EMMA’s Information Planes

You may use EMMA now!

A trial version of EMMA is available by clicking on the methods selection advisor on the NEMI website at: www.nemi.gov

Fostering Regional Monitoring Councils

Lake Michigan Monitoring Coordination Council (1999) Maryland Water Monitoring Council (1995) Virginia Water Monitoring Council (1999) Texas Water Monitoring Council (1996) Kentucky Watershed Management (1998) New England Regional Monitoring Collaborative (2000) Chesapeake Bay Program (1983) Colorado Water Quality Monitoring Council (1999) Montana Watershed Coordination Council (2000) Oklahoma Water Quality Monitoring Council (1999) Wisconsin Ground Water Coordinating Council (1998)

Access the individual websites from: water.usgs.gov/wicp/acwi/monitoring/regional_councils.html

Why form a monitoring Council?

Promote better use of available monitoring resources through coordination of programs

To provide better information to respond to legislation

Improve reporting to citizens Promote awareness of need for

monitoring

National and Regional Council connections

Working together as a virtual Council toward common goals – Networks, Methods, Data, Interpretation, Reporting and Outreach

Everyone is welcome at Council meetings and as members of Council Goal Groups and Board Work Groups

Important not to duplicate efforts with and to share results between Councils