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Managing Monitoring Data from Many Sources A New Hampshire Experience
Deb SouleWatershed Management Bureau
New Hampshire Department of Environmental ServicesMay 9, 2006
Items to be covered
• Background on NHDES monitoring data
• Development of our own database based on EPA’s STOrage and RETrieval (STORET) database
• Web access to database
• Electronic data submittal process
• Next steps - Using the Water Quality Exchange Schema
Prior to 2003, how would you obtain NHDES water monitoring data?
• Be on the inside track - know someone who knew where the data was• Sort through paper lab data in file cabinets• Weed through disks and databases of various formats
We looked for a better solution.
•Reviewed commercial databases (we’re too cheap)•Asked other states if we could copy their database (cheap option but not fruitful)•Reviewed STORET (didn’t fit all our needs)•Formed a department wide committee to develop a database (couldn’t get consensus)•Began development of our own database in the bureau
Database development process
• Bureau met every 2 weeks for several months to determine needs/wants
• STORET structure and requirements were used as guidance• Organizations/Programs/Projects/Stations/Activities
• Program needs were incorporated
• Business plan was developed
Core database is developed
• Called the Environmental Monitoring Database (EMD), it was built:• by one developer in-house in 4 months
• by a total design/development team of 3 people: business analyst, developer, and database administrator
• using Oracle forms 6i with Oracle 8i for the back end
• while working on other databases/projects
• Imported almost all old bureau data (in electronic format)
• Has automatic nightly imports of DES State Lab and bureau’s Limnology Lab data
EMD facts
• Went live March 2003
• Accepts both field and lab data for air, water, soil, product etc.
• Accepts QA/QC samples and automated data logger files
• Handles physical/chemical data – biological later
• Has over 110 projects, 15,000 stations, 241,000 activities, and 1,870,000 results
• Contains 64 screens and 48 tables (for main part of database only)
EMD features
• Contains modules to track complaints, beach inspections and shellfish sanitary surveys
• Fulfills beach reporting requirements (both monitoring and advisory)
• Can be linked to the Assessment Database (ADB) and is used as the basis for developing automated assessments
• Can easily create STORET Import Module (SIM) compatible export files for upload to STORET
The EMD expands within NHDES
• Other bureaus/divisions contribute data• Superfund
• Site Remediation
• Geology Unit
• Wastewater
• Developed direct links between their databases and the EMD
• Developed department wide committee to collectively create changes to the database
The EMD beyond NHDES
• Outside agencies/groups contribute data• University of NH
• Several volunteer monitoring groups
• Working with other agencies to bring in their data
• We enhance/standardize their data to meet database requirements
• Will upload to STORET for them free of charge
• Why do we do this? We want/need data for assessments and the EMD is the basis for assessment data.
EMD data available on the web
• Went live June 2004
• Only “final” data is available
• Can query by:Organization Project Name Station ID
Station Type Town County
State Waterbody Name River Name
Designated River HUC 12 Name Analyte
Medium
• Data returned via email in Excel/pipe delimited file complete with your query parameters
• Data available via: http://www2.des.state.nh.us/OneStop/Environmental_Monitoring_Query.aspx
Electronic data submittal to the EMD via the web
• Needed a way to receive standardized monitoring data electronically from consultants, outside labs, volunteers, cooperating agencies etc.
• Developed Excel spreadsheets to import station and activity data separately (with XML planned for the future).
• Developed web registration and submittal forms with data validation tool.
• Developed interim table to capture what was being submitted, by whom, when etc.
Next steps
• Update EMD to Environmental Sampling, Analysis and Results (ESAR) data standards
• Report data to EPA via Water Quality Data Exchange (WQX)
• Eliminate local copy of STORET
• Add biological component to EMD• eventually eliminate local copy of Ecological Data
Application System (EDAS)
• Update web site to include:• graphing capabilities
• geographic queries
Questions?
Contact Information:
Deb Soule
Business Systems Analyst
Watershed Management Bureau
New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
(603) 271-8863