UGS Chemistry Sample Data

Scripts and files used to help manage data for the National Groundwater Monitoring Network

• If you can't find data or a station or see a bad site location, please submit a descriptive issue

Naming Stations

• Station type abbreviation (2 letters) - Station Name (no special chars or spaces) - Date (YYMMDD)
• Ex ST-STUCKI-230228
• Use the Trip ID field to designate the charge code for the sample

Data Sources

• The UGS NGWMN Project compiles data from three different data sources: field data, state lab data, and EPA data.
• These sources are connected to each other by a monitoring location id. If this id is not present or messed up, connecting the data is a pain in the butt.

Field Data

• Field data entry should be done on the Google Sheet FieldDataEntry in the shared drive under Projects\NGWMN\Field_Data_and_Field_Sheets
• Field data are also occasional captured using the ESRI Collector App.

State Lab Data

• State Lab data is received as raw text files downloaded from the State Lab Keith Henderson ([email protected]) at the State Lab.
• Raw text files are kept in the directory Projects\NGWMN\Chemistry_Results_Data\StateLab\
• An example file has been included in this repository

EPA Data

• These data are sent as spreadsheets from the EPA lab in Denver
• All bottles collected by the UGS and sent to the EPA are tracked using COCs, stored in the shared drive under Projects\NGWMN\COCs_lab_forms and sorted by year
• An example file has been included in this repository

Data Archives

• Data are stored in the UGS SDE, then submitted to the EPA WQX using the CDX portal
• The USGS NGWMN Portal hosts the EPA WQX data
• Site data are stored in the UGS SDE, and submitted and updated on the NGWMN Portal
• The UGS SDE schema tries to emulate that of the EPA WQX, based on Stations, Results, and Activities.

Stations

• Site locations and metadata are entered through the NGWMN Location Registry
• Stations are saved in the UGS SDE in the table ugs_ngwmn_monitoring_locations
• Stations are connected to Activities based on the monitoringlocationid

Results

• Results are the reports measuements of water properties; most often the concentrations of ions measured in water
• Each measure has a row in the results table (ex. the measure of Magnesium in a sample has its own row).
• Results are saved in the UGS SDE in the table ugs_ngwmn_monitoring_phy_chem_results

Activities

• An activity represents the filling of bottles or measuring of field parameters
• Each activity is typically joined with multiple rows in the Results
• Activities are connected to results through an activityid
• If I visit a well in the field and collect a water sample and collect field measurments,
  • the water sample has an activity id and the field measurements have a separate activity id
  • the UGS standard is to append a -FM suffix on a sample acitivity id for field measures that go with a sample
  • ex. the sample has activityid 1505011-18, then the activityid of the field measurements with that sample would be 1505011-18-FM
  • This follows how the EPA treats its sample data
• Activities are saved in the UGS SDE in the table ugs_ngwmn_monitoring_phy_chem_activities