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STORET/WQX: WQX Biological and Habitat Pilot

WQX Biological and Habitat Pilot

Welcome to the WQX Biological and Habitat Pilot!

Here you will find information about the current effort underway to incorporate biological and habitat data into WQX version 1.0, the current version of WQX that is in production now. EPA is calling the biological and habitat enhancement to the overall system WQX version 2.0.

WQX v2.0 incorporates biological and habitat data elements into the already existing schema structure. This means that WQX v2.0 incorporates the new biological and habitat data elements without affecting or changing the version 1.0 schema that is in production now (this schema is for chemical, physical, and fish tissue data only).

Developing a model for biological and habitat data...
The WQX v2.0 biological and habitat data elements and schema are still in draft form. Through this pilot effort, EPA is hoping to finalize the WQX v2.0 schema with the feedback and input from pilot participants.
The draft data elements and schema structure have been put together using existing biological databases (i.e. STORET and EDAS) as starting points. Many data elements, definitions and domain values from these systems are reflected in the WQX v2.0 draft schema.
Connection to a biological data standard...
The Methods and Data Comparability Board Exit EPA Disclaimer of the National Water Quality Monitoring Council have developed a set of Water Quality Data Elements for Reporting Results of Population and Community Biological Assessments Exit EPA Disclaimer. These data elements are currently being put into place as an EPA data standard by EPA and ECOS. While the WQX v2.0 effort has begun in the absence of a fully approved data standard, the effort continues to work along side the EPA and ECOS standardization process in the finalization of the WQX v2.0 schema.
What makes up the new biological and habitat data elements?

The overall WQX v2.0 biological and habitat additions to WQX v1.0 include:

  • Monitoring Location weight data elements as well as a reference site indicator to support probabilistic monitoring designs


  • Additional activity description data elements that are specific to biological sampling such as Net Tow or Electro fishing activities.


  • Biological and habitat metric and index data elements to support the sharing of information such as IBI scores.


  • Additional result description data elements that are specific to biological monitoring such as taxonomic features and frequency class information


Biological and Habitat Schema (WQX version 2.0) Resources

  • WQX v2.0 Schema (ZIP 58KB - Updated 4/11/08) - The formal definition of the structure and format of the WQX version 2.0 schema. Included in this downloadable file are draft examples of XML submission files.


  • Data Exchange Template (Data Dictionary) (ZIP 48 KB - Updated 4/11/08) - The template outlining each data element within the WQX version 2.0 schema along with definitions, validation rules, and example content. This is a more human-readable version of the schema.


  • Flow Configuration Document (FCD) (PDF 7 MB - Updated 5/28/08) - The document which captures the detailed data exchange processing rules governing WQX v2.0. This document is vital to understanding how to interact with WQX.


  • Graphical representation of the schema (PDF 66KB - Updated 4/11/08) - A graphical representation of the new biological and habitat data elements as incorporated into the structure of the WQX schema version 1.0.


  • Physcial Data Model (ERD) (PDF 56KB - Posted 5/14/08) - A graphical representation of the entities (tables) that make up the WQX v2.0 backend database.


  • WQX version 2.0 in Access (ZIP 778 KB - Updated 5/14/08) - A zip file containing the WQX v2.0 backend database in Access format. This Access file has all tables, including the domain value tables that are in the WQX v2.0 backend database.


Draft Schema Issues Log

  • WQX v2.0 Draft Bio Schema Issue Log (PDF 104 KB) - Log of issues around the draft schema, data elements and concepts. Last updated on October 19, 2007, per discussion on the conference call.

Biological and Habitat Pilot Meeting Minutes

  • July 19, 2007 (PDF 95 KB) - Minutes taken during the webcast held on July 19, 2007.

  • July 10, 2007 (PDF 95 KB) - Minutes taken during the webcast held on July 10, 2007.

  • June 12, 2007 (PDF 100 KB) - Minutes taken during the pilot kick off conference call June 12, 2007.


You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the Adobe PDF files on this page. See EPA's PDF page for more information about getting and using the free Acrobat Reader.

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