DWQ assembles and evaluates all readily available and credible data to determine whether a waterbody is supporting or not supporting its beneficial uses as mandated in 40 CFR 130.7(b)(5). Data are compared to Utah’s Standards of Quality for Waters of the State using the 303(d) Assessment Methods . Interested parties are encouraged to submit credible data as described in the 303(d) Assessment Methods. Note: If you or your organization already submit data to DWQ through our Cooperative Monitoring Program, you don’t need to submit data through the Call for Data process.
Data submitted to DWQ or obtained by DWQ during the Integrated Report (IR) data compilation process are integrated into DWQ’s assessments as described in Table 3 of the 303(d) Assessment Methods and are subject to DWQ’s data management and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) processes. Should any data and information not be included in the IR assessment process, DWQ will clearly document which dataset (or datasets) were not included and the reason for rejecting them from the assessments.
ATTENTION: If you submit data through DWQ’s Cooperator Program, you should not submit data during the Call for Data. If you have questions about DWQ’s Cooperator Program, please contact Ellen Bailey (ellenbailey@utah.gov). Data and information that are not brought forward during the IR’s Call for Data or presented to DWQ in accordance with the processes and timeframe discussed on this webpage or in the 303(d) Assessment Methods will not be treated as readily available for the purpose of assessment decisions during the 2024 assessment cycle.
Waterbody Types
The IR reports on the following for 303(d) assessment purposes:
- Flowing surface waters of the state
- Canals as identified in site-specific standards or named in the list of waters with the designated use classifications
- Lakes, reservoirs, and ponds
All other waters are currently reported through other programs within DWQ.
Data Requested
DWQ requested the following data for the 2024 IR:
- Quantitative and qualitative data as described in Table 10 of the 303(d) Assessment Methods
- Data and information from October 1, 2016—September 30, 2022
- Data not already available in DWQ’s Ambient Water Quality Data Management System (AWQMS), EPA’s Water Quality Portal, U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) NWIS, and Utah State University’s BugLab. DWQ is already compiling the data and information from these sources.
Submitting Data
Please review the instructions below before you upload your data to the submission form. Here are some tips to help you get started:
- Make sure your data meet the 303(d) Assessment Methods credible data requirements before organizing your data for submission.
- Determine the type of data you will submit and the appropriate template to use. See the table below for the submission location for each data type.
- Have your Organization ID handy if you are submitting data to the EPA Water Quality Portal (WQX). Don’t have an Organization ID? Visit the WQX Web Account Registration page to find out how to register for an ID. If you are unsure whether you have an Organization ID, please contact wqx@epa.gov.
- Download the zipped data submission templates and compile your data in the appropriate templates before submitting to DWQ through the Qualtrics form. It’s best if you can complete the form in one session.
Please fill out the Call for Data submission form
even if you’re only submitting to WQX.
Please read the information below before opening the comment form.
Note: All data submissions must be submitted through the online Call for Data submission form even if you are submitting to WQX only.
Preparation
- Have your Organization ID ready if you will be submitting data to WQX. Please download the zipped data submission templates, and format your data within those templates.
- If you only plan to submit data to WQX, indicate that on the form and fill out the remaining survey questions. A link to WQX will appear on the final page of the form.
- If you plan to submit data in the DWQ templates for narrative standards/assessments, high-frequency dissolved oxygen, other information, or photographs, indicate that on the form. Upload these templates at the appropriate points in the form. A link to WQX will appear on the final page of the form after you upload your data in the DWQ templates. Use the WQX link if you also have data to submit to WQX.
Supplemental Documents and Information
Some data submissions have additional documents and associated information, such as published studies and reports or photographs. Upload supplemental documents to the form with their individual file names using the appropriate DWQ data template. Please restrict file formats to .pdf, .doc/docx, .txt, .xls.xlsx, .ppt/pptx, .jpg, .png, and .tiff.
Multiple file uploads are limited to 100 MB. Compress multiple files into one zipped file, if possible, for upload. Note: Compress multiple files into one zipped file, if possible, for upload. Compressed files should be of the same type (e.g., all photographs zipped into one file and submitted in the Photographs section).
DWQ welcomes submissions of photographs to support secondary review. Geotagged photographs are preferred, and file names must contain a site ID or name, date, and organization name. Contact Alan Ochoa (aochoa@utah.gov) for assistance if you are unable to geotag photographs.
Data and information submissions must fit the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet templates provided below. These templates are compatible with EPA’s Water Quality Data Portal (WQX) and DWQ’s water quality assessment tools. DWQ’s data submission templates and submission process are designed to accommodate both quantitative and qualitative information.
Data Type | Submission Location (links to templates) |
---|---|
Physical/Chemical | EPA WQX |
Biological | |
High Frequency Dissolved Oxygen | DWQ (1.5MB) |
Narrative Standards and Assessments | |
Other (Qualitative) |
See the resources and videos below for more information on how to upload data to EPA’s Water Quality Exchange (WQX).
Questions
If you have questions about the data submission process, please contact Alan Ochoa (aochoa@utah.gov) at (801) 536-4376.