This dataset contains water quality data and associated site information including landuse/landcover descriptions for the 2011 NWCA wetland sites at which a water sample was successfully obtained. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Trebitz, A., J. Nestlerode, and A. Herlihy. USA-scale patterns in wetland water quality as determined from the 2011 National Wetland Condition Assessment. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT. Springer, New York, NY, USA, 191(262): 24 p., (2019).

The National Wetland Condition Assessment (NWCA) is a statistical survey of the condition of wetlands in the conterminous United States. It is designed to provide information on the extent of wetlands that support healthy biological condition, estimate how widespread major stressors are that impact wetland quality, and provide insight into the ecological integrity of wetlands nationwide. This dataset is an archived (zipped) file comprised of chemical, physical and biological files used in developing the NWCA 2016 report. Sampling was conducted in the spring and summer of 2016 at approximately 1,000 sites in the conterminous U.S. Sites were selected using a statistical survey (probabilistic) design. The files include site information, vegetation characteristics, soil properties and chemistry, hydrology sources and disturbances, physical habitat, landscape metrics, algal toxins (microcystin), and water chemistry. Users are encouraged to visit the NARS data webpage for updates to data files and data from other surveys. https://www.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys/data-national-aquatic-resource-surveys. Citation for the NWCA 2016 archived data: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. National Aquatic Resource Surveys. National Wetland Condition Assessment 2016 Report. Archived Data. (INSERT data and metadata files used). Available from U.S. EPA web page: https://www.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys/reports-and-data-national-wetland-condition-assessment-2016. DOI: 10.23719/1531014 EPA encourages users who are publishing subsets of the data (say as part of a journal article publication) to include the above citation. EPA also encourages users of the data to include the following acknowledgement: “The National Wetland Condition Assessment 2016 data were a result of the collective efforts of dedicated field crews, laboratory staff, data management and quality control staff, analysts and many others from EPA, states, tribes, federal agencies, universities, and other organizations. Please contact nars-hq@epa.gov with any questions.” Additional information: NWCA is part of the National Aquatic Resource Surveys, an EPA/State/Tribal partnership. The National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS) are statistical surveys designed to assess the status of and changes in quality of the nation’s coastal waters, lakes and reservoirs, rivers and streams, and wetlands. Using sample sites selected at random, these surveys provide a snapshot of the overall condition of the nation’s water. Because the surveys use standardized field and lab methods, we can compare results from different parts of the country and between years. Citation information for this dataset can be found in Data.gov's References section.

Estuary water quality data has been collected by the Estuaries and Catchments Team of the Environment, Energy and Science Group in the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment since 2007. Data has been collected using a standard monitoring protocol outlined in 'Assessing estuary ecosystem health: Sampling, data analysis and reporting protocols. NSW Natural Resources Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Program', most recently updated in 2016 and available on the NSW environment website. The data has been used to monitor the aquatic ecosystem condition of over 160 estuaries in NSW over time. Adopting the principles of the National Water Quality Management Framework, the data has been used to develop NSW specific guideline values for a range of physico-chemical water quality indicators for each estuary type. This allows comparison of observed data to these guidelines to assess condition of any estuary in NSW. As part of the Marine Estate Management Strategy Implementation Plan Stage 1, a NSW water quality database has been developed, where this data is now stored. Water quality monitoring in NSW estuaries is ongoing, and updated data will be made available routinely.

EPA's 2016 National Wetland Condition Assessment sampled wetlands across the conterminous USA for vegetation, soils, water chemistry, and anthropogenic impacts. Data for all of these elements of the 2016 NWCA survey are available from the EPA NARS website. This particular publication uses the water chemistry data and the anthropogenic impacts data, as well as the general site data that describes sampling locations, wetland type classifications, etc. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Trebitz, A., and A. Herlihy. Wetland water quality patterns and anthropogenic pressure associations across the continental USA. WETLANDS. The Society of Wetland Scientists, McLean, VA, USA, N/A, (2023).

Rivers and Streams data for the National Aquatic Resource Surveys. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Herlihy, A., J. Sifneos, R. Hughes, D. Peck, and R. Mitchell. The Relation of Lotic Fish and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Condition Indices to Environmental Factors Across the Conterminous USA. ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, USA, 112: 105958, (2020).

The 4 resource surveys (coastal, rivers and streams, lakes and reservoirs, and wetlands) each have datasets covering the biological, chemical, physical habitat, hydrologic and watershed data. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Olsen, T., T. Kincaid, M. Kentula, and M. Weber. Survey Design to Assess Condition of Wetlands in the United States. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT. Springer, New York, NY, USA, 191: 268, (2019).

The 4 resource surveys (coastal, rivers and streams, lakes and reservoirs, and wetlands) each have datasets covering the biological, chemical, physical habitat, hydrologic and watershed data. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Olsen, T., T. Kincaid, M. Kentula, and M. Weber. Survey Design to Assess Condition of Wetlands in the United States. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT. Springer, New York, NY, USA, 191: 268, (2019).

These data are "standard" water quality parameters collected for surface water condition analysis (for example pH, conductivity, DO, TSS). This dataset is associated with the following publication: Kozlowski, D., R. Hall , S. Swanson, and D. Heggem. Linking Management and Riparian Physical Functions to Water Quality and Aquatic Habitat. JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, VA, USA, 8(8): 797-815, (2016).

These data are "standard" water quality parameters collected for surface water condition analysis (for example pH, conductivity, DO, TSS). This dataset is associated with the following publication: Kozlowski, D., R. Hall , S. Swanson, and D. Heggem. Linking Management and Riparian Physical Functions to Water Quality and Aquatic Habitat. JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, VA, USA, 8(8): 797-815, (2016).

From October 2017 through September 2022, the National Water Quality Network (NWQN) monitored 110 surface-water river and stream sites and more than 1,800 groundwater wells for a large number of water-quality analytes, for which associated quality-control data and corresponding statistical summaries are included in this data release. The quality-control data—for samples that were collected in the field (at all 110 surface-water sites, 350 groundwater wells, and 16 quality-control-only sites), prepared in the laboratory, or prepared by a third party—can be used to assess the quality of environmental data collected by the NWQN through the estimation of bias and variability in reported results. The general analyte groups that were monitored at NWQN surface-water and (or) groundwater sites and have associated quality-control data in this data release include major ions, nutrients, trace elements, pesticides, volatile organic compounds, hormones, pharmaceuticals, radionuclides, microbial indicators, sediment, and environmental tracers. For each analyte group, the data tables contain results for one or more of the following types of quality-control samples, where relevant: blanks, matrix spikes, and replicates collected at field sites; laboratory blanks, reagent spikes, and matrix spikes prepared by the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) (quality-control samples prepared by other analyzing laboratories are not included in the current data release); and third-party blanks, spikes, and reference samples prepared by the USGS Quality Systems Branch (QSB). For each relevant analyte, tables of summary statistics characterize the frequency and concentrations of blank detections, the typical magnitude of and variability in spike and reference-sample recoveries, and the typical variability between replicate concentrations. Tables included in this data release: Table1_SiteList.txt: Information about National Water Quality Network sites that have associated quality-control data. Table2_AnalyteList.txt: Information about National Water Quality Network analytes that have associated quality-control data, including available aquatic-life and (or) human-health benchmarks and selected information regarding analytical methods. Table3_BlankData.txt: For all relevant analytes, results for blanks collected at field sites, prepared in the laboratory, or prepared by a third party. Table4_SpikeData.txt: For all relevant analytes, results for matrix spikes prepared in the field, matrix spikes prepared in the laboratory, reagent spikes prepared in the laboratory, or reagent spikes prepared by a third party. For matrix spikes, results of paired environmental samples are included. Table5_ReplicateData.txt: For all relevant analytes, results for field replicates and paired environmental samples. Table 6_ReferenceData.txt: For all relevant analytes, results for third-party reference samples. Table7_BlankStats.txt: For all relevant analytes, summary statistics for each type of available blank sample. Table8_SpikeStats.txt: For all relevant analytes, summary statistics for each type of available spike sample. Table9_ReplicateStats.txt: For all relevant analytes, summary statistics for field replicates. Table10_ReferenceStats.txt: For all relevant analytes, summary statistics for reference samples.