Announcing Version 2.0 of the Watershed Assessment, Tracking and Environmental ResultS (WATERS)


United States
Environmental Protection Agency
                                            Office of Water
                                             Code 4305
                               EPA-800-F-02-002
                                     June 2002
Announcing Version 2.0 of the
Watershed  Assessment, Tracking  and
Environmental  Results  (WATERS)
Summary

The  Environmental Protection  Agency (EPA),  in
partnership with  states,  territories and  tribes, is
improving  communication   with  the  regulated
community and the public about the quality of the
Nation's  surface  waters  through the  use of the
Watershed Assessment,  Tracking and Environmental
Results (WATERS). WATERS unifies geography-specific
water quality information previously available only on
individual state web sites and various EPA web sites.
WA TERS (Version 2.0), which provides direct access to
an  expanded list of  information  sources,  is now
available.
      Visit WATERS at:
         www.epa.gov/waters
stored across many different EPA databases. WATERS
improves program efficiency, communication,  and
analytical capacity by linking these databases so the
water quality information they contain can easily be
shared and combined. These linkages enable program
managers to examine relationships between programs,
perform nationwide analyses, and investigate interstate
water quality issues. As updated information is added to
each  individual database it  immediately  becomes
available through WATERS.

WATERS uses the surface water network defined within
the  National  Hydrography Dataset (NHD) as the
geographic framework for linking and integrating water
quality information.  The NHD was produced and is
jointly maintained by the EPA, U.S. Geological Survey,
and other federal and state cooperators.

Future Releases
What is WATERS?

WATERS  is a  data  architecture  that  integrates
information  from  various EPA  Office  of  Water
programs by linking it to the national  surface water
network.  Through  WATERS,  environmental
professionals  and  interested  citizens  can access
comprehensive information about  the quality of the
Nation's surface water. By clicking on  an interactive
Web-based map, users can simultaneously display the
locations and associated information for:

•   the designated use(s) of a waterbody
•   water quality monitoring stations
•   assessments of water quality
•   causes and sources of impaired waters
•   public beaches
•   no discharge zones for vessel sewage

Linking Water Quality Information

Numerous EPA programs pursue clean and safe water.
These programs generate large amounts of information
Future releases of WATERS will include information on
fish consumption advisories, non-point source projects
to control polluted runoff, and facility discharges. Also
planned is the ability to calculate total river miles and
waterbody acres for a given area and to answer multi-
program questions that draw on information from the
databases linked through WATERS.

For More Information Contact:

TodDabolt
USEP A Office of Water
Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds
Mail Code 4503 T
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20460
Phone: 202-566-1186
Fax:   202-566-1333
Email:   dabolt.thomas@epa.gov

Office of Water (4305)
EPA-800-F-02-002
www.epa.gov
June 2002

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