Making the Most of Biological Water Quality Monitoring:

1
Making the Most of Biological Water Quality
Monitoring

• Ecological and Toxicological Water Quality Data
  Elements
• ACWI Meeting
• Herndon, VA
• September 15, 2004

2

• Understanding the interactions between humans
  the environment requires data of known quality
  collected at different spatial temporal scales
  from many scientific disciplines.
• Because no single group can collect all the data
  needed to understand and deal with the
  complexities of natural systems, we must learn to
  share data effectively.

Good data documentation for effective data
sharing
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Benefits of Data Sharing

• Increased spatial, temporal, or taxonomic scale
  of an assessment
• Increased pool of reference sites available to
  any one program
• Enhanced ability to make scientifically
  defensible judgements on water quality
• Provides decision makers with better information
  with which to devise and implement monitoring
  strategies
• Increased ability to use data produced by other
  programs encourages collaborative efforts
• Reduced costs

4
Barriers to Data Sharing

• DATA COMPARABILITY
• DATA EXCHANGE
• DATA MGT
• DATA ACCESS
• DATA INTERPRETATION
• DATA DOCUMENTATION
• it all comes back to metadata

5
A Few Good Quotes

• FGDC (2000) "Data producers and users cannot
  afford to be without documented data.
• NAS (2002)Far too many environmental research
  projects give insufficient attention, in either
  the planning or the implementation stage, to the
  long-term archiving of their data sets.
• GAO (2002) EPA should provide clear guidance
  to states on the information they should use to
  describe their methods for identifying impaired
  waters
• GAO (2004) recommend development of clear
  guidance on metadata standards so that data users
  can integrate data from various sources

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What are Water Quality Data Elements

• Information about data that answer basic
  questions to facilitate data exchange
• Who? (Which organizations are responsible?)
• What? (What was monitored and found?)
• Why? (Why was the monitoring conducted?)
• When? (When was the monitoring done?)
• Where? (Where was the monitoring done?)
• How? (How was the sampling/testing done?)

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Data Element Modules 1 - Contacts 2 - Analyte /
Endpoint Result 3 - Reason for Sampling 4 -
Date/Time of Sampling 5 - Location 6 - Sample
Collection Methods 7 - Sample Analysis Methods
QA/QC
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Status of Data Elements

• Chemical and microbiological elements approved by
  ACWI on May 15, 2001 and being implemented /
  considered by several agencies
• Population/community elements approved by the
  Methods Board (2003) and Council (2004)
• Toxicity elements approved by the Methods Board
  (2003) and Council (2004)
• Habitat elements drafted in progress
• Plan to address biomarkers and sediment data
  elements soon

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Biology Data Elements Workgroup Charge
To prepare a set of data elements to be used to
structure the sharing and archiving of biological
data. The list of data and metadata elements
is intended to promote data sharing but without
being an exhaustive list of every possible data
element that could be reported.
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Overlap in Elements (Depending on Type of Data
Reported)

• Toxicity sample collection - chem/micro sampling
  elements
• Plankton/algal surveys chem/micro sample
  processing elements
• Organism tissue chemical analysis - Chemical
  analysis elements
• Organism tissue sampling population / community
  sample prep elements

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Biological Data Elements Modules Under
Consideration

• Biological ecological and toxicological
• Biological assessment (bioassessment) evaluates
  conditions of waterbody using biosurveys other
  direct measurements of resident biota
• Toxicology (ecotoxicology) studies the harmful
  effects of chemicals on biota in the context of
  the natural environment
• biomonitoring evaluation of effects using
  ecological indicators, populations, etc.
• bioassays evaluation of real toxicity under
  controlled conditions in the lab

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Points to Ponder

• A WQDE guidance document is currently under
  review
• Minimum elements needed to facilitate data
  exchange evaluate methods data comparability
• Categories of information relevant to various
  aspects of wq monitoring practices
• Most organizations already collect this info
  its just a matter of documenting it
• New technologies make implementation less onerous

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Proposed Timeline for Approval

• 10/1/04 Guidance document on WQDEs to NWQMC
• 10/22/04 Guidance document on WQDEs to ACWI
• 11/19/04 ACWI comments on bio data elements and
  guidance document
• distribute lists within organizations solicit
  feedback
• 12/17/04 Final Action
• ACWI conference call to discuss data elements and
  guidance document
• vote via email
• letter of support/formal adoption

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"If you think the cost of metadata production is
too high - you haven't compiled the costs of NOT
creating metadata loss of information with staff
changes, data redundancy, data conflicts,
liability, misapplications, and decisions based
upon poorly documented data." FGDC (2000)