National Water-Quality Project Sampling Methods
Science Center Objects
USGS National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) studies require analyses of stream and bed-sediment samples for major ions, nutrients, sediments, and organic contaminants that are consistent across time and space. Procedures have been designed specifically to produce information that is comparable among studies in different parts of the Nation.
Find thorough guidance on these and other methods under the Publications tab.
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Year Published: 1994Field guide for collecting and processing stream-water samples for the National Water-Quality Assessment Program
The U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment program includes extensive data- collection efforts to assess the quality of the Nations's streams. These studies require analyses of stream samples for major ions, nutrients, sediments, and organic contaminants. For the information to be comparable among studies in different parts of...
Shelton, Larry R.View CitationField guide for collecting and processing stream-water samples for the National Water-Quality Assessment Program; 1994; OFR; 94-455; Shelton, Larry R.
National Field Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data. U.S. Geological Survey Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations, Book 9
The mission of the Water Resources Discipline of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to provide the information and understanding needed for wise management of the Nation's water resources. Inherent in this mission is the responsibility to collect data that accurately describe the physical, chemical, and biological attributes of water systems....
Protocols for mapping and characterizing land use/land cover in riparian zones
Johnson, Michaela R.; Zelt, Ronald B. Collection, analysis, and age-dating of sediment cores from 56 U.S. lakes and reservoirs sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1992-2001
The U.S. Geological Survey Reconstructed Trends National Synthesis study collected sediment cores from 56 lakes and reservoirs between 1992 and 2001 across the United States. Most of the sampling was conducted as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The primary objective of the study was to determine trends in particle-...
Van Metre, Peter; Wilson, Jennifer T.; Fuller, Christopher C.; Callender, Edward; Mahler, Barbara J. Revised Protocols for Sampling Algal, Invertebrate, and Fish Communities as Part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program
Algal, invertebrate, and fish communities are characterized as part of ecological studies in the U.S. Geological Survey.s National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Information from these ecological studies, together with chemical and physical data, provide an integrated assessment of water quality at local, regional, and national scales. Analysis...
Moulton, Stephen R.; Kennen, Jonathan G.; Goldstein, Robert M.; Hambrook, Julie A.
Methods of analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Laboratory; processing, taxonomy, and quality control of benthic macroinvertebrate samples
Qualitative and quantitative methods to process benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) samples have been developed and tested by the U.S. Geological Survey?s National Water Quality Laboratory Biological Group. The qualitative processing method is based on visually sorting a sample for up to 2 hours. Sorting focuses on attaining organisms that are...
Moulton, Stephen R.; Carter, James L.; Grotheer, Scott A.; Cuffney, Thomas F.; Short, Terry M. Revised Methods for Characterizing Stream Habitat in the National Water-Quality Assessment Program
Stream habitat is characterized in the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program as part of an integrated physical, chemical, and biological assessment of the Nation's water quality. The goal of stream habitat characterization is to relate habitat to other physical, chemical, and biological factors that describe...
Fitzpatrick, Faith A.; Waite, Ian R.; D'Arconte, Patricia J.; Meador, Michael R.; Maupin, Molly A.; Gurtz, Martin E. Guidelines for quality assurance and quality control of fish taxonomic data collected as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program
Fish community structure is characterized by the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program as part of a perennial, multidisciplinary approach to evaluating the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of the Nation's water resources. The objective of quality assurance and quality control of fish taxonomic data...
Walsh, Stephen Joseph; Meador, Michael R.
Methods of analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Laboratory; determination of 86 volatile organic compounds in water by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, including detections less than reporting limits
This report presents precision and accuracy data for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the nanogram-per-liter range, including aromatic hydrocarbons, reformulated fuel components, and halogenated hydrocarbons using purge and trap capillary-column gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. One-hundred-four VOCs were initially tested. Of these, 86...
Connor, Brooke F.; Rose, Donna L.; Noriega, Mary C.; Murtaugh, Lucinda K.; Abney, Sonja R.
Field guide for collecting samples for analysis of volatile organic compounds in stream water for the National Water-Quality Assessment Program
For many years, stream samples for analysis of volatile organic compounds have been collected without specific guidelines or a sampler designed to avoid analyte loss. In 1996, the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program began aggressively monitoring urban stream-water for volatile organic compounds. To assure...
Shelton, Larry R. Quality-control design for surface-water sampling in the National Water-Quality Assessment Program
The data-quality objectives of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program include estimating the extent to which contamination, matrix effects, and measurement variability affect interpretation of chemical analyses of surface-water samples. The quality-control samples used to make these estimates include field blanks, field matrix spikes, and...
Mueller, David K.; Martin, Jeffrey D.; Lopes, Thomas J.
Methods of analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Laboratory; determination of pesticides in water by Carbopak-B solid-phase extraction and high-preformance liquid chromatography
In accordance with the needs of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA), the U.S. Geological Survey has developed and implemented a graphitized carbon-based solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatographic analytical method. The method is used to determine 41 pesticides and pesticide metabolites that are not readily...
Werner, Stephen L.; Burkhardt, Mark R.; DeRusseau, Sabrina N. Ground-Water Data-Collection Protocols and Procedures for the National Water-Quality Assessment Program: Selection, Installation, and Documentation of Wells, and Collection of Related Data
Protocols for well installation and documentation are included in a 1989 report written for the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Pilot Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). These protocols were reviewed and revised to address the needs of the full-scale implementation of the NAWQA Program that began in 1991. This report, which is...
Lapham, Wayne W.; Wilde, Franceska D.; Koterba, Michael T.-
Date published: January 1, 2017Supporting Data QC Field Spikes SW NAWQA 2012-2015
Field spikes were prepared at 207 stream and river sites as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) project between December, 2012, and September, 2015. At the field site, a depth-and width-integrated environmental sample was collected, and one subsample of the environmental sample was spiked with a known amount of a spike mixture. Both the spiked...
Attribution: Water Resources, National Water Quality Program