Nonpoint Source Surface Water Data Management
The Data Management Section provides technical support services for the Water Quality Planning Bureau of the Planning, Prevention, and
Assistance Division in the areas of data systems development and management for water quality metric data, water quality assessments, contract
management and administration, and reference library. Section staff also maintain the bureau's library stacks of documents, reports, books, periodicals,
and maps. Library reference material exist in either hard-copy or electronic format, or both. Section staff also provide the bureau with support for water quality
modeling and systems analysis and development. Water quality and watershed modeling services support TMDL development, water quality
standards development, and water quality standards attainment assessments. Systems analysis and development provide for custom computer application
development for data analysis, model setup, data reduction and presentation, data systems integration, enhanced reporting capabilities, and project management.
Finally, the section also prepares the agency's biennial statewide water quality report and list of impaired waters in need of TMDLs as required by sections 303(d)
and 305(b) of the federal Clean Water Act.
Data Management Section Functions Include:
- Water quality modeling and watershed analysis
- Operation and maintenance of statewide water quality databases
- Preparation of reports on the condition of Montana's water resources
- Dissemination of monitoring data and assessment decisions using online web services
- Technical assistance in development of water pollution abatement plans (TMDLs)
- Computer systems analysis, development, and management
- Water Quality Planning Bureau Library management
Water Quality Planning Bureau Databases
STORET
The US EPA's STORET (STOrage and RETrieval) water quality
data management system serves as DEQ's primary repository and long-term archive for surface water quality metric
data. It contains a diversity of water quality information gathered from
fixed-station monitoring networks, intensive surveys, ambient water quality investigations -- essentially
all nonpoint source surface water quality monitoring activities performed by WQPB and its grantees. The
system accommodates chemical, physical, and biological water quality information as well as a wide array of metadata describing the data
results. Metadata includes, but is not limited to, quality assurance
documentation, laboratory analytical flags and other quality control flags, analytical methods, detection limits, and sampling location
descriptions. The Data Management Section manages the state's primary instance of STORET and uploads
copies of the state's database to the national STORET database, which is maintained by the US EPA. Water quality data for Montana
can be obtained from the national STORET Warehouse maintained by EPA at
http://www.epa.gov/storet/index.html
Assessment Database (ADB)
The US EPA's Assessment Database (ADB) delineates
Montana's streams and lakes as "water bodies", which are termed assessment units in the ADB system. The system provides
a flexible method for tracking statewide water quality by watershed, by individual
stream or lake, or by waterbody (assessment unit). The main emphasis of the bureau
has been to identify and track impaired or threatened
water bodies and their associated causes and sources
of impairment. Section 303(d) of
the federal Clean Water Act requires
states to publish a list of impaired and threatened
waters (those not meeting, or not expected to meet, state water quality
standards) in every even numbered year. The ADB assists the DEQ is accomplishing
this legislative requirement.
