New Tribal Water Quality Data Management
Projects for Improved Local Decision Making
Tribal Lands and Environment Forum 2015
August 17 – 20, 2015
Mark LeBaron
Introductions
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Welcome
Who’s here?
A little about myself
A little about Gold Systems
Introductions
•
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Welcome
Who’s here?
A little about myself
A little about Gold Systems
What is AWQMS?
• A web-based water quality data management
tool (with batch importing and data entry pages)
• Validates WQX Rules, Expected Parameter
Combinations, Expected Parameter Result
Value Ranges
• Includes data analysis capabilities (Graphs,
Reports, Maps, & Exports)
What is AWQMS?
What is AWQMS?
What is AWQMS?
What is AWQMS?
What is AWQMS? (Continued)
• Simple submission to the EPA Water Quality
eXchange (WQX)
• Web services for systems integration
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See www.awqms.com for more information.
Introduction/Presentation Goals
• Discuss projects we are involved in
• Provide new/improved water quality data
management tools
• Provide new/improved water quality data
analysis tools
• Better-equip tribes to make more informed local
decisions
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Facilitate flow of water quality data to EPA
for grant compliance
Major Past Community Efforts
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Utah Division of Water Quality
Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council
EPA Region 8
Coalition of Oklahoma AWQMS Tribes
(COAT) – Via Iowa Tribe of OK
• Colorado Data Sharing Network (CDSN)
Major Past Community Efforts
(Continued)
• Bishop Paiute Tribe
• Southern Ute Tribe
• Fort Peck Tribes
Major Current Community Efforts
• Maryland Department of the Environment
• Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council
• Region 5 Wild Rice Consortium (via
Fond du Lac)
• EPA Region 8
• Coalition of Oklahoma AWQMS Tribes
(COAT) – via Otoe Missouria Tribe
Major Current Community Efforts
• Native American Environmental
Protection Coalition (NAEPC)
• Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas
• Bishop Paiute Tribe
New Features in AWQMS 4.0
• Released in the Gold Systems Cloud
Environment May 5, 2015
• There are a LOT of improvements to
show!
• All maintenance or hosting agreement
holders get the new enhancements at no
additional charge
Improved System Navigation
Improved System Navigation
• Drop-Down Navigation Bar
• Follows AWQMS/WQX Work Flow from
Left to Right
• Projects and Monitoring Locations are now
under the Meta-data/Lookup Tables menu.
• Submit to WQX is now under the
Analyze/Export menu
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Import Configurations and Rapid Data
Entry Configurations are under the
Setup menu
Improved System Navigation
(Continued)
• Summary of your Activities and Results is
now under the Analyze/Export menu
• My Navigation History (with links) is now
under the Review/Update menu
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Help Links in Far Right Menu
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Log Out Button in Upper Right Corner
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Can jump directly to the configuration
for a rapid data entry form
Improved User Interface
• Improved Navigation in Data Analysis
Tools (with previews)
• Tabbed List Pages w/Buttons at the Top
• Improved Pagination in List Pages
• Improved Search by Monitoring Locations
in List Pages
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Gradually adding in mouse-over help
Improved User Interface (Continued)
• System messages now appear in pop-up
message boxes
• Ability to select a color scheme
• Tabbed User Interface in Data Analysis
Tools (with buttons at the top)
Improved User Interface (Continued)
• Drop down lists with Checkboxes
• Improved Save/Recall of Search Criteria in
the Data Analysis Tools
• Graphs, Reports, and Maps Generated in
the Data Analysis Tools now pop up in a
separate window
• (Be sure to disable your browser’s pop-up blocker
for the AWQMS URL)
Excel File Import/Export
• No more need to save Excel files as text
files when importing
• Can import from one or more tabs in a
single Excel file
• All exports in the list pages and the data
analysis are now Excel format (no longer
CSV)
Update Result Status
for a Batch of Results
• AWQMS has had one-at-a-time update
capability for years.
• But, what if I want to update an entire
batch of result status without having to
open, change, and save every record in
the batch?
Data QA/QC and Cleanup Tools
• AWQMS has had QA/QC parameter
consistency checks and warnings for
new/incoming data.
• But, what about data already in AWQMS
and at WQX/STORET?
Typical Data Consistency/Quality Issues
Correcting these types of issues
(Old Way)
• Modify the data (one record at a time) in AWQMS.
or …
• Export a batch of data from the system.
• Open the exported data in Excel.
• Modify the data (row by row).
• Save your changes
• Re-import all the data back into the system to overwrite
the old data with your new changes.
The New Way (All Within AWQMS)
• Review your results (grouped by characteristic,
sample fraction, measurement unit, etc.) to
identify inconsistencies
• Select a group of records that need to be
corrected
• Make the required changes
• Review and confirm your changes
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…….All from within AWQMS!
Projects Currently Under Way
• AWQMS 4.0 Step by Step “How-To” Videos
• AWQMS 4.0 Version of the AWQMS Getting
Started Guide
• AWQMS 4.0 Version of the AWQMS Data
Analysis Tutorial
• RESTful web services that allow for
interoperability with external software systems
Projects Currently Under Way
• Auto-Synchronization of Additional WQX Picklist
Tables in AWQMS
• Improved Organizational Administrator Control
of the AWQMS Public Portal Feature
• Streamline the Consolidating/Importing of
Probe/Data Logger Data.
• Search for Locations (And Associated Activities
and Results) by Watershed Management Unit
Projects Currently Under Way
• Search for Locations (and Associated Activities
and Results) by Assessment Unit
• Consolidation of Characteristic Results, Metric
Scores, and Index Scores into a Single Concept
of a “Parameter"
• Rapid entry form templates and import
configuration templates in support of vegetation
counts and vegetation individual sample
measurements (in support of wetlands).
Upcoming Projects
(not necessarily in a particular order):
Continuous Monitoring Data
Improved Support
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Data Management & Storage
Data Analysis
Submission to the EPA
Hooked in to national solution
Using AWQMS to Store and Analyze
Drinking Water Data
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A “home” for tribal drinking water data
Import, Store, Manage Data
Analyze Data
Flagged so it won’t flow to WQX
Tribal Waters Use-Assessment
Tracking
• Set up standards per designated use
• Group monitoring stations into “Assessment
Units”
• Evaluate stations and assessment units against
standards (per designated use)
• Log assessments
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Submit assessment data
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In line with the national solution
On-The-Fly Water Quality Standards
Generation for Metals Parameters
• The “standard” for certain types of parameters
depends somewhat on the context at the time of
the sample (e.g. the hardness).
• Configure groups of such parameters
• For a limited list of parameters, auto-calculate
and store the standard on-the-fly based on other
parameter results captured
On-The-Fly Water Quality Standards
Generation for Metals Parameters
(Continued)
• Improve data analysis tools to compare
parameter results against the calculated
standard
Improved Analysis and Reporting of
Biological Data
• Current tools were developed for
chemical/physical parameters
• Not designed for “counts”
• Not designed for metrics
• Enhancement will resolve these issues
Auto-Generation of Metrics Based on
Macroinvertebrate Counts
• Currently can record metrics but have to
calculate them external to AWQMS
• Enhancement will add a limited set of
abundance type metrics
• Necessitates addition of an ability to configure a
“profile” per taxon
Web Services for Easier Integration
with Other Systems such as GIS
• Web service = Software sharing data
• EPA Exchange Network is founded on Web
Services
• Allow other specialized software such as GIS to
ask AWQMS for data.
• AWQMS responds with the requested data.
• Seamless / no need to manually export / import
Support for Measures WQ-SP14a and b
• SP14a – Identify monitoring stations where
waters are improving
• Techically, AWQMS already supports SP14a.
• SP14b - Identify monitoring stations on tribal
lands where the waters are meeting tribal water
quality objectives.
• Additional functionality needed to better support
SP14b “Path A” (statistical analysis)
Support for Measures WQ-SP14a and b
• Much of what is needed is in place to do this in
AWQMS.
• Need to assist tribes to populate the water
quality objectives tables in AWQMS
• Need to provide improved AWQMS
navigation to guide user to existing
functionality
Support for Measure WQ-SP14b
(Continued)
• Add reports/graphs to evaluate the locations.
• Add ability to record the evaluation per
monitoring location.
Finer Control Over What Data “Flows"
to EPA
• Only send results for a specific list of parameters
• Only send results for a specific list of locations
• Analyzing other possible ways to control what
is/isn’t submitted.
Integration of eBeaches Notification
Data into AWQMS (for states)
• Record beaches monitoring data in AWQMS
• Add support for beach notification data.
• Integrate raw results data with notification data
to in maps and reports indicate the need for a
potential beach notification action.
• Submit notification data to the EPA Beach
Notification data flow.
Integration with the EPA Virtual Node
• AWQMS already has a built-in node client
• Will allow AWQMS to publish / consume WQXformatted data
• Hosted in “the cloud”
Other Data Analysis Tools
Graphing & Reporting Enhancements
• Better support 106 grant reporting
• Leverage our powerful statistical library
• Stiff diagrams (Cations & Anions)
Other Software Tools Tribal
Environmental Programs Might Find
Useful
LearningZen
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www.learningzen.com
Cloud-based training platform
You provide the content
Free if you:
• Don’t care who views/takes your courses
• Don’t want to charge for your course
• Don’t want to put your own branding on it
Underground Injection Control (UIC)
• Fort Peck Tribes Exchange
Network Grant
Underground Injection Control (UIC)
UIC Primary Objectives
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Replace Access Database / Web-Based solution
Flow data to the EPA / Virtual Node
Integrate Permit Writer into new system
Eliminate the need to use the U2 application
UIC Secondary Objectives
• Mobile application for inspection and mechanical
integrity testing data
• Online submission of permit requests
• Integrate with other UIC programs, e.g. MT, ND, &
R8 EPA
• Prepare a platform for use by other partner
programs
• Present project at 2015 and 2016 EN conferences
Underground Injection Control
Underground Injection Control
Underground Injection Control
Thank you!