Case Study: Revamping Water Quality Exchange

With over 3.5 million miles of streams and rivers, American waterways could circle the globe 140 times over—and that’s without accounting for 100,000+ lakes and reservoirs. These waterways feed our drinking water infrastructure, facilitate billions of dollars in economic activity, and provide crucial habitat for both aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. And while we depend on these unsung hydrological heroes for our own survival, we know little about their overall health. Much of what we do know is passed through EPA’s system for ingesting non-federal water quality data, Water Quality Exchange (WQX)—a system badly in need of upgrades to capture all available data. We think the answer to filling those gaps requires a data systems approach, and this case study offers our recommendations for improving WQX along those lines. These include:

1. Revamping and modernizing WQX’s interface and documentation to improve public access and support local assessment of water quality.

2. Increasing WQX budget for more one-on-one support and proactive outreach.

3. Supporting technology developers building connections between groups and their data sources.

4. Looking to Mackenzie DataStream for examples of how to support organizations and design an accessible water quality data system.

Like this case study or have feedback you think we need? Contact Gabe Watson at gabe@policyinnovation.org.