NWQL Capabilities Summary

Detailed Description

Capabilities Summary:

National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) offers environmental analytical services, including inorganic, organic, and radiochemical constituents, and provides high-quality, reproducible data. The laboratory specializes in trace- and ultratrace-level analyses of water, sediment, and tissue, and the taxonomic identification and quantitation of benthic invertebrates. The NWQL also provides specialized services to its customers, including project planning, method development, customized projects, and data management.

NWQL data are used by the USGS to describe and understand the earth's hydrology through the professional application of science and technology to physical, chemical, and biological analyses of water, river and lake sediment, and aquatic biota. The need for a national laboratory with broad environmental analytical capabilities using standardized field protocols and laboratory methods, in combination with extensive quality assurance, and an infrastructure of trained personnel across the Nation, enable the USGS to collect, manage, and disseminate scientifically based information that describes the quantity and quality of the Nation's water. The NWQL is dedicated to fulfilling its responsibility in supporting the mission of the USGS and U.S. Department of the Interior.