1. NWIS Data Pulls for National- and Regional-Scale Applications Kathy Smith (Crustal Geophysics and Geochemistry) and Nancy Bauch (Colorado Water Science Center) Community for Data Integration Workshop 2011 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey

2. Summary Statement  NWIS data are highly regarded water-quality data  There are numerous potential applications for national- and regional-scale-NWIS data, both within and outside the USGS  Use of NWIS data for national- or regional-scale GIS applications is extremely cumbersome  The current inaccessibility of the NWIS database to scientists limits its use

3. Our Applications  Development of Mineral Environmental Assessment Methodologies (MEA) Project Mineral Resources Program (EMEH Mission Area)  Methodologies being developed will provide information about potential environmental issues associated with known and undiscovered mineral-resource occurrences  Large regional and national scales need to make use of existing information due to the expense involved in collecting new data

4. Examples of our Questions  How many surface-water water-quality records within basins less than 70 mi 2 are there in the database?  How much dissolved organic carbon (DOC) data are available in the NWIS database?  How many of these records were collected from the same location?  What is the spatial distribution of these locations across the US?

5. Distribution of National-Scale DOC or TOC Data in the NWIS Database from January 1985 to August 2009 map prepared by Carma San Juan

6. Distribution of Stream Sites in Small Basins in the NWIS Database from January 1985 to August 2010

7. Site Selection  First consolidation to exclude sites: NWIS basin size > 70 sq miles Non-stream sites: canals, drains, effluent, names like 13N-01E-15 BBB 1  Request to Jon Scott: Sites in NWIS with pH and basin size < 70 sq miles  Result: 23,912 sites

8. Site Selection  Sites with no basin size in NWIS : Estimate basin size using EDNA/CONUS  Consolidation: Exclude no basin size, check size against site name and location  End result: 12,009 stream sites with basin size < 70 sq miles  Sites grouped by state and location into 9 groups: New England, Southeast, West, etc.

9. Distribution of Stream Sites in Small Basins in the NWIS Database from January 1985 to August 2010

10. Data Retrieval  NWIS retrieval using site id by location group and parameter list  Time period: January 1985–August 2010  3.2 million analysis results; 280,000 samples

11. Data Consolidation  Aggregate parameters (Result = 93 parameters)  Flag data  Quality assure data Approximately 1,000 hours used for project

12. Groundwater NWIS Data Pull Attempt Can we retrieve additional data (other than arsenic) from the same sites discussed in USGS Water- Resources Investigations Report 99-4279?

13. Difficulties with groundwater data retrieval  Arsenic report: One value per site, about 20,000 sites  Cumbersome to retrieve one sample per site Thousands of sites and multiple samples per site Selection of time period Record number  Regional and national data retrieval for surface water or groundwater: very cumbersome. Retrieval of data for one state: easy using WSC internal database

14. Use of groundwater data  Complex: Ancillary information Aquifer, geologic material, well depth and type, water level  Ancillary information not available for every well