Water Quality Data

Monitoring Data and Data Management 

DEC relies on monitoring data to make informed management and regulatory decisions. To be effective, data must be organized, reliable, and readily accessible. DEC is committed to:

1. Making DEC's data readily accessible online;
2. Transparency in data management and application;
3. Providing clear instructions and expectations on how to submit data to DEC.

Access DEC Water Quality Data

DEC’s data are publicly available on DEC webpages and online mapping tools. The following resources provide links to the Division of Water’s data.

Monitoring Data

• Division of Water Monitoring Data Portal: Access current and historical stream and lake monitoring data in an easy-to-use map. Detailed user instructions and a list of available data are provided on the info panel that appears when opening the web app.
• WAVE Map: All of WAVE data that have been collected since the beginning of this project are published on the online in an online map. For comprehensive data files, email [email protected]. 

Assessment and Listing

• NYS Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters
• NYS Section 305(b) Water Quality Report
• DECinfo Locator: Waterbody Inventory/Priority Waterbody Factsheets

Clean Water Planning and Permitting

• Supporting the development, implementation and effectiveness of Total Maximum Daily Load (TDML) and watershed plans.
• State Permit Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit writing, compliance and enforcement, and setting permit limits that are protective of best uses.

Harmful Algal Blooms and Invasive Species

• HABs Notification page (active May through October)
• Aiding in the identification of, documentation, and response to Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs).
• HABs and Marine Biotoxins
• Expanding the inventory of waterbodies with Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) and iMapInvasives.
• Identifying waterbodies that would benefit from more intensive water quality surveys and investigation as well as other special water quality monitoring projects.

Data Management

NYS uses an accessible electronic data system for water quality, fish tissue, toxicity, sediment chemistry, habitat, and biological data (following appropriate metadata and State/Federal geo-locational standards) with timely data entry and public access.

Data handling and archiving will follow procedures described in the quality assurance project plan (QAPP) developed for each DEC program. Hard copies and electronic transcripts of field notes will be maintained as specified in each program’s QAPP. All data are maintained electronically on secure DEC servers, the USEPA national data warehouse, or on the USGS NWIS system. 

Databases used to store water quality monitoring data include:

• Internal relational database management system
• USEPA’s Water Quality Exchange (WQX) data warehouse
• USGS’s National Water Information System (NWIS)

It is required that data from all component programs and projects be stored in one of these data management systems, although data may be viewed and manipulated in other software, such as Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, or R. Storage in one of the required data management systems ensures that all data fields necessary for identifying sampling locations, individual samples, analytical methods, measurement units, data qualifiers, and other required information are maintained and available for data users to assess the usability of the data for their specific purposes.

External Submission of Water Quality Data

There are no restrictions on who can submit data, but the applicability of the submitted data to DEC’s activities will be determined by the adherence to the criteria outlined in DEC's Water Quality Assurance webpage Environmental Data Requirements. DEC relies on environmental information that is scientifically valid and of known and documented quality to protect NYS's water resources.

Data Submission Workflow

• Review the DEC Quality Assurance requirements outlined on DEC's Water Quality Assurance webpage.
• Submission to WQX does NOT guarantee that data will be used by DEC. We strongly recommend that you contact the appropriate DEC program to review and discuss program specific requirements that may not be outlined on this page.
• Develop a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) before sampling begins.
• Plan to work with a NYS DOH ELAP certified laboratory.
• Collect environmental data in accordance with quality assurance documentation (QAPPs and SOPs).
• Provide data validation and verification in a Data Usability Assessment Report (DUAR).
• Submit data to the USEPA’s Water Quality Exchange (WQX), including validated and verified water quality data and quality control samples. We recommend that you provide your quality assurance documents (e.g., QAPPs and SOPs) as attachments during the submission process.
• Email [email protected] to inform DEC that your data has been submitted to WQX. For Assessment and Listing Purposes, please adhere to the data solicitation process outlined in the Consolidated Assessment and Listing Methodology (CALM). To find the most up-to-date version of the CALM, please visit: NYS Section 303(d) List Of Impaired/TMDL Waters - NYSDEC. The usability and applicability of submitted data will be determined by requirements and needs of individual DEC programs. 

Water Quality Exchange (WQX)

The Water Quality Exchange (WQX) is a publicly available framework developed by the USEPA for the acceptance and storage of water quality data. DEC requires all community partners receiving state funding to submit water quality data to WQX for DEC’s use. Submission to WQX provides a number of benefits to DEC and to the entity submitting the data, including:

• Standardization: The successful submission of data to WQX provides quality control on the data provided by requiring data providers to adhere to an expected data format and structure. A standardized data structure helps to ensure that DEC can efficiently process and correctly interpret external data.
• Traceability: Data submitted to WQX are associated with an organization identifier. Data submitted to WQX have transparent traceability and accountability.
• Accessibility: Data provided to WQX are publicly available and easily accessible via the Water Quality Portal (WQP). The WQP makes it efficient for DEC to acquire external data, while also making the data readily accessible to other entities interested in water quality within NYS.

EPA provides extensive documentation on how to submit data to WQX. If you have any issues creating an account, please call the USEPA WQX Support Number. Additionally, USEPA will provide personalized consultations to aid in the data upload process. Data submitted to WQX is publicly accessible through the WQP.