"This data set provides a location map in ARCVIEW Shapefile format of selected water quality monitoring stations for 10 bacteria-related parameters. The stations and the monitoring data are extracted from the U.S. EPA Storage and Retrieval of US Waters Parametric Data (STORET) which is contributed to by a number of organizations including federal, state, interstate agencies, universities, contractors, individuals and water laboratories. Data updates to STORET area performed weekly. Each provider of data is responsible for the data it submits to STORET. The geographic coordinates for monitoring stations were obtained using USGS 1:24,000 - 1:100,000-scale topographic map (depending on map availability)."
"The STORET database serves as a repository of waterway parametric data, including information on ambient, intensive survey, effluent and biological water quality."
"The BASINS Bacteria Monitoring Stations and Data Summaries for the conterminous U.S. are created by retrieving the source data from the STORET database using the STORET MEAN program. Monitoring stations characterized as ambient stream, lake, reservoir, canal, estuary or ocean were selected. Summary statistics were computed by the program by station for 5-year intervals from 1970-1997. Statistics include number of observations, standard deviation, mean, 15th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 85th percentiles. A BASINS water quality station ID was assigned to each station in order to facilitate links and joins within BASINS between station data and the monitoring data summary. The geographic coordinates for monitoring stations are obtained using USGS 1:24,000 - 1:100,000-scale topographic map (depending on map availability). Bacteria monitoring station coordinates were screened for acceptance based on whether the station was located within the USGS Hydrologic Cataloging Unit boundaries associated with its EPA region. Bacteria stations located outside the boundaries were not included in this BASINS data product."