Office of Research & Development | April 2022

United States
Environmental
Protection Agency

AEPA

Participatory Science

Data Management Case Studies

Save The Sound United Water Study

'Environmental Protection Agency [Contract No.
GS-35F-410DA] to Information International Associates, INC.

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Save the Sound Unified Water Study

Improving Data Management for Participatory Science

UWS brought states, munincipalities, other non-government groups, and academics together early on to
establish Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and QAPP details to make it easier to aggregate data
and produce a Report Card on the health of Long Island's bays and inlets.

Project Overview & Goals

The Unified Water Study (UWS) is a
program of Save the Sound (STS), a non-
government organization that acts as the
host for this water project. UWS, which
began in 2017, monitors the environmental
health of the Long Island Sound (LIS),
particularly its many bays and inlets and
other areas that local, state and federal
governments don't always have the
resources to monitor. The UWS aggregates
water quality data from over two dozen
groups using standardized Standard
Operating Procedures (SOPs) integrated
into one Quality Assurance Project Plan
(QAPP). Data are aggregated by STS and
shared with regulatory agencies, released to
the public, and used to generate the bay
grades for the biennial LIS Report Card. In
addition, STS directly manages participatory
science project participants as part of its
Fecal Bacteria Monitoring Program. UWS
receives funding from EPA.

Role of Project Participants

The UWS involves groups selected through
an application process rather than individual
project participants. UWS provides all
equipment and supplies using the EPA
Loan Program as a model. Training is
provided annually followed by an audit. STS
provides the first line of technical support for
all equipment and procedural inquiries.

Data Management f

Issue:

Water Quality

Location:

Connecticut &
New York



Tools:

Measurement,
Photography &
Sample
Collection

Contact:

Peter Linderoth

Data collection is
identified by tiers, which
are defined by the
measurements being
collected and not the
data quality. Tier 1
(baseline) measures
dissolved oxygen, water
clarity, temperature,
salinity, Chlorophyll A,
and qualitative
macrophytes. The
optional Tier 2

measures include continuous dissolved
oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous, and
quantitative macrophytes. Tier 1 data are
collected in all waterbodies and Tier 2 data
are collected in a subset of the Tier 1
waterbodies. All data collected are at the
same high-level quality.

A series of data sheets are used depending
on the parameters being monitored. Wthin
a week of collection, field data sheets are
transferred by the participant to SharePoint.
Final data is entered into project Excel
templates and must be reviewed twice and
signed off on before submission to STS.
Following the field data sheet submission,
UWS staff review scanned data sheets to
catch issues as soon as possible. At the
end of the season, UWS staff aggregate
data from all templates and conduct a
detailed quality review.

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Data Use

The data are used for the biennial LIS
Report Card, shared with the states of
Connecticut and New York for management
implications, and shared with all contacts on
the QAPP distribution list. The states use
them for decision-making about listing and
de-listing on the list of impaired and
threatened waters and for reporting,
including Clean Water Act assessments.
The data are made available for download
by year and tier on the STS website. Data
are also used locally by the participating
groups. STS provides UWS data to the
Water Quality Exchange (WQX) annually.
This open data has been used by
researchers, academics and students.

Issues & Lesson's Learned

Technical issues revolve around equipment,
but STS has a budget for replacement, has
trained the participants to identify potential
issues, and provides a high-level of direct
technical support. Non-technical issues
include ensuring that groups and their
participants maintain the monitoring
schedules that they agreed to and follow
SOPs.

Outcomes & Success Factors

The work done by UWS has resulted in
standardized procedures, a single QAPP
and associated SOPs. UWS provides
central technical support to the groups and
has open lines of communication for all
groups participating in the UWS. This
ensures a connected network of like-
minded groups around LIS.

UWS is the largest participatory science
water quality data project in the Sound.
UWS data are heavily used, especially by
Connecticut, to produce Clean Water Act
assessments. Connecticut plans to expand
the use of UWS data to include Tier 2 for
macrophyte coverage.

The keys to UWS success include:

•	Involving a variety of stakeholders from
the very beginning

•	Developing the SOPs and QAPP jointly
with all stakeholders

•	Standardizing equipment, SOPs, QAPP
and the parameters and data formats

•	Communicating regularly with participating
groups and individual participants

•	Providing extensive technical support

•	Developing two-way trust with
participating groups

Opportunities

•	EPA could help by bringing states and
participatory science groups together to
discuss the requirements of state
acceptance of participatory science data
and how to meet them for the desired
outcome.

•	Other aggregators could use the structure
and approach of the UWS to integrate
data around a waterbody. For example,
this approach might work within a different
estuary somewhere in the United States.

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