US Environmental Protection Agency BASINS metadata reports -
"This data set provides statistical summaries of water quality monitoring for 47 physical and chemical-related parameters. The parameter specific statistics were computed by station for 5-year intervals from 1970 to 1994 and a three year interval from 1995 to 1997. The data are extracted from the U.S. EPA Storage and Retrieval of US Waters Parametric Data (STORET) which is contributed by a number of organizations including federal, state, interstate agencies, universities, contractors, individuals and water laboratories. Data updates are performed weekly. Each provider of data is responsible for the data it submits to STORET. For distribution with BASINS v.2.0, the spatial attributes of the database were prepared in Arcview shape file format while selected relational attributes were prepared in Arcview DBF file format."
"The STORET database serves as a repository of waterway parametric data, including information on ambient, intensive survey, effluent and biological water quality." "Intended use of data: This data set was prepared to support the U.S. EPA BASINS (Better Assessment Science Integrating Point and Nonpoint Sources) System.
US Environmental Protection Agency BASINS metadata reports -
"NONE"
CREDIT Please acknowledge USEPA. The data was developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of BASINS 3.0
"The BASINS Water Quality Monitoring 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 1970-1994 and for the period from 1995-1997. 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. For distribution with BASINS v2.0, ARCVIEW shapefiles which included the spatial extent of each of the ten U.S. EPA Regions, plus the 8-digit hydrologic units that crossed region boundaries were prepared to indicate the geographic locations of the monitoring stations within the region."