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Water-quality data-collection activities in Colorado and Ohio; Phase I, Inventory and evaluation of 1984 programs and costs

January 1, 1985

Pilot projects are being conducted in Colorado and Ohio to determine the extent to which existing water quality data, collected by different groups for various purposes and using different procedures, can be aggregated for use in addressing selected water quality questions of regional and national scope. The project has been divided into three phases; this report presents the results of the first phase that characterizes current water quality data collection activities in Colorado and Ohio, including costs of sample analysis, and identifies those data potentially applicable and readily available for addressing selected water quality questions of regional and national scope. An estimated $63 million was spent during 1984 in the two States for only the laboratory analysis of water quality samples. For many agencies, total program costs are believed to be more than twice the laboratory costs. About four times more samples were reported for Ohio than for Colorado. Water quality data collection programs were tested against a set of five screening criteria. In Colorado, 34 percent of all samples met all five criteria; whereas, in Ohio, 5 percent of all samples met all five criteria. In Colorado, analyses from 114,300 samples (34 percent of the total), and in Ohio, analyses from 57,000 samples (5 percent of the total) potentially are applicable and readily available for addressing water quality questions of regional and national scope. These samples represent about $8 million in estimated laboratory costs. (USGS)

Publication Year 1985
Title Water-quality data-collection activities in Colorado and Ohio; Phase I, Inventory and evaluation of 1984 programs and costs
DOI 10.3133/ofr85574
Authors Janet Hren, Thomas H. Chaney, J. Michael Norris, Carolyn J. Oblinger Childress
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Open-File Report
Series Number 85-574
Index ID ofr85574
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Ohio Water Science Center