NPS Water Quality Database Helps Pakistan

A water quality database management system developed by the Water Resources Division, NPSTORET, is being used by the country of Pakistan, with the assistance of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and U.S. State Department, to help foster standardized water resources data management.  NPSTORET enables users to enter information about their water quality monitoring projects, stations, metadata, and monitoring results in a Microsoft Access database.  Results can be reported, analyzed, graphed, and exported.  Water Quality Exchange (WQX) export files can also be generated for import into the Environmental Protection Agency’s STORET/WQX Data Warehouse (http://www.epa.gov/storet/dw_home.html).

NPSTORET (http://www.nature.nps.gov/water/infoanddata/index.cfm#NPSTORET) was developed to provide parks, Vital Signs Monitoring Networks, and others with a system to manage and analyze their water quality data in a decentralized environment while facilitating the transfer and archiving of these data in a centralized data warehouse. This functionality attracted the attention of the USGS and U.S. State Department which were helping Pakistan ameliorate their fledgling water resources data management infrastructure.  A standards-based, easy to use, inexpensive, and adaptable water quality database management system that could be deployed in a decentralized environment was precisely what was needed for Pakistan.
                    
Working with the Pakistanis, the USGS identified additional functionalities that were needed in NPSTORET. With the support of USGS and U.S. State Department, NPSTORET has added these new capabilities including enhanced support for ground water attributes, displaying station locations and analytical results in Google Earth, performing water quality standards analysis, and providing user authentication/security. Integrating these capabilities into NPSTORET has also directly benefitted NPS and other users. For more information on NPSTORET and its use by the USGS to support Pakistan, contact Dean Tucker (Dean_Tucker@NPS.GOV).