Data Management Tool. October 18, Developed by: Funded by: Research Office of Information Technology

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1 Data Management Tool October 18, 2012 Developed by: & Research Office of Information Technology Funded by:

2 Table of Contents What is the purpose of the QUEST Data Management Tool?... 3 What is the QUEST Data Management Tool?... 3 What is the QUEST Data Map?... 4 When can I use the QUEST Data Management Tool?... 5 What are the new Field & Lab Parameters?... 5 What about the visual assessment data?... 7 Where does the data go once it s entered?... 8 Our group already has an online data entry form and database how can we work together?... 9 Some of our sampling locations are outside of the Upper Ohio Basin boundaries.can we still enter that data via the QUEST Data Management Tool?... 9 Tables Table 1. Proposed timeline for improvements to the QUEST Data Management Tool Table 2. Field Parameters to be included in the QUEST Data Management Tool Table 3. Laboratory Parameters to be included in the QUEST Data Management Tool Table 4. The draft Visual Assessment Tool... 7 Figures Figure 1. Screenshot of the ArcGIS Online Interactive Data Map Figure 2. Screenshot of Field Sample Form from 3RQ Data Management Tool P a g e

3 What is the purpose of the QUEST Data Management Tool? Manage and visualize water quality data via user-friendly online tools. Realizing the importance of volunteer collected data, the WVWRI has received funding from the Colcom Foundation, in part, to develop a platform for the collection of data throughout the Upper Ohio River Basin. Understanding that citizen-based groups are collecting similar information throughout the 3RQ area, we have been working to find the commonality of data being collected. With the West Virginia University Research Office of Information Technology (WVU ROIT), we have been working over the past year to expand the beta version of our database. Our database started off on a fairly small scale, only capturing ph, conductivity, temperature, and site location data. By taking this approach, we ensured that the functionality of the database was successful. Now, we are ready to launch our NEW & IMPROVED QUEST Data Management Tool. The updated Tool provides data management for a variety of water quality parameters, visual assessment data, and more! What is the QUEST Data Management Tool? An easy and secure way to manage water quality data! Here are some key features: FREE The QUEST Data Management Tool is free to any citizen group or individual in the upper Ohio River Basin that would like to use the tool to help manage water quality data! Data being entered into the QUEST Data Management Tool is then placed in a secure database that only the individual user or group has access to. That data is also displayed on the 3 Rivers QUEST Data Map to help provide a better picture of overall health of the Upper Ohio River Basins. Secure database A user name and password are necessary to provide access the QUEST Data Management Tool (which resides on the 3RQ Website, This provides individuals user with the ability to log in and enter data for their sites. Individual users can only enter data for sites in their respective group (i.e. John Doe can only enter data at sites for his watershed group). Data management Individual users can enter data and watershed group administrators can export data (e.g. as an excel spreadsheet). The ability for individuals to enter data on their own can be very convenient for groups that have multiple volunteers collecting data! We realize that it can be very difficult to manage data and we hope that by using this tool, folks that normally spend their time wrangling volunteer data can free up their time to work on other watershed group issues. Quality Assurance/Quality Control Range values have been set for data entries (e.g. entering a ph of 27.0 will return an error message). Also, users are asked to verify their entries before submitting the form. These features are designed to reduce data entry errors and provide users with self-checking tools to ensure a high level of data integrity. 3 P a g e

4 Data visualization o Online data maps Provide the ability to see the site locations and graphs of water quality data. Note: coordinates for site locations are not displayed on the QUEST Data Map to ensure confidentiality for groups who may not want their site information displayed. To further ensure site information remains confidential on the QUEST Data Map, sites will disappear from the map once a certain zoom-in threshold is reached. o Reporting tools Independent of the graphs provided by the online data map, the WVU ROIT folks are working on the development of reporting tools which will provide users with the ability to query data to create a variety of graphs. Scalability Additional parameters, data entries (data loggers), and other additions/improvements can be made to the tool as the needs, or numbers, of users change. What is the QUEST Data Map? A GIS based map that allows researchers, citizen-based groups, and the public to visualize water quality information from throughout the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Upper Ohio River Basins! Here are some key features: Uses an ArcGIS platform that allows users (visitors to the QUEST website) with a visualization of data collected by QUEST participants (see Figure 1). Users can view data from multiple sample locations, sample dates, and more! Figure 1. Screenshot of the ArcGIS Online Interactive Data Map. 4 P a g e

5 When can I use the QUEST Data Management Tool? Some tools are ready for you to use TODAY! We are sending this document as a pre-cursor to the launching of the new improvements (i.e. expanded list of field and laboratory parameters). While other tools are still in the development phase, Table 1 provides a proposed timeline of how we envision rolling out improvements over the next six months: Table 1. Proposed timeline for improvements to the QUEST Data Management Tool. QUEST Data Tool Components Currently Available Late 2012 Early 2013 Spring 2013 Field Parameters (ph, conductivity, temperature) Online Data Maps Export Data via request to 3RQ Field Parameters (full field & lab list) Exporting Data (group admin only) Visual Assessment Data Reporting Tools (graphs independent of data map) Continuous Data Logger Upload What are the new Field & Lab Parameters? Taking into consideration various sampling methodologies (i.e. recording stream discharge data) being used by citizen-based groups throughout the Upper Ohio River Basin, we ve done our best to provide a form that will capture data that volunteers are working hard to collect. Figure 2 is a screenshot of what users will see for the Field Data Form when they are logged into the QUEST Data Management Tool. We ll be developing a User Guide to go along with the new forms when the new tool is launched. For now, this should give you an idea of what folks will see. Figure 2. Screenshot of Field Sample Form from 3RQ Data Management Tool. 5 P a g e

6 Table 2 has been included in this document to show the options available in the drop down menus (i.e. stream size: low, moderate, high). Also, we think it may be a good idea to include a field for volunteer hours at site. This would provide groups with the ability to report on the hours their volunteers are monitoring water quality, which could be used as in-kind for many grant proposals (e.g. $21.79/hr was the estimated value for volunteer time in 2011, for more information visit: We d love your feedback on the best way to capture this important information!! Table 2. Field Parameters to be included in the QUEST Data Management Tool. Water Temperature Celsius Field ph ph Field Conductivity µs/cm Sample Date Data entry date (hidden) Time Site Field TDS Current Weather Conditions Sunny, Cloudy, Drizzle, Rain 24 Hour Precipitation Light, Moderate, Heavy Air Temperature C Surrogate Stream Flow ft 2 Field Parameters Stream Discharge ft 3 Stream Size none Low, Normal, High Visual Turbidity none Clear, Cloudy, Tea-Colored, Muddy, Murky, Milky Measured Turbidity ntu Volunteer Hours at site hrs Laboratory parameters will include those listed in Table 3. This list has been developed based on the bi-weekly monitoring performed by 3RQ Research Partners and a few additional parameters that are collected by citizen-based groups. The Laboratory Parameters Form is almost ready to go live! Table 3. Laboratory Parameters to be included in the QUEST Data Management Tool. Laboratory Parameters Lab ph Lab Conductivity Lab Alkalinity Lab Acidity Bromide Dissolved Aluminum Dissolved Calcium Dissolved Iron Dissolved Manganese Chloride Dissolved Sulfur Dissolved Sodium Dissolved Magnesium Sulfate Total Suspended Solids Total Dissolved Solids Barium Strontium ph µs/cm 6 P a g e

7 What about the visual assessment data? Yes! We ve taken into consideration various Visual Assessment forms that citizen-groups are using and are working with the WVU ROIT folks to incorporate the information found in Table 4 into the Visual Assessment Tool. This online tool will be an accordion-styled (question dependent logic) form with drop down boxes and text entry fields where appropriate. We d love your feedback on this tool! As development on the tool begins, changes are more difficult to incorporate. We re hoping to get some great feedback/suggestions on fields to include prior to our development. Table 4. The draft Visual Assessment Tool. Please selct the type of activity at the site location. Please explain: Is there visual evidence of sediment entering stream, pond, wetland, or other body of water? Is there an active Sediment Plume? Is the water currently discolored? Is there increased sediment deposition to stream bottom? Is there an access road upstream of this location? Please select the proximity of the known access road. Is mud/sediment/drainage from access road traveling to main road Is mud/sediment/drainage from access road entering road ditch Is access road stabilized with clean gravel Does the access road cross the stream Has the access road crossing diverted the stream? Are the access road banks stailized (no mulch, seeding, vegetation, etc.) Is there a drill pad or storage pond near of this location? Please selct the type of water containment Observations for Earth Disturbances Streams Access Roads Drill Pad/Storage Pond Are there controls to stop or filter runoff Is there an adeqaute diversion ditch present Outlets of sediment control structures go directly into a waterbody without filtering or cleaning runoff Outlets of sediment control structures are not stabilized (no mulch, seeding, vegetation, etc.) <Natural Gas> <Logging> <Construction Site> <Mining> <other> <none> enter text <within 200 yards> <beyond 200 yards> <Storage Container> <Storage Pond> 7 P a g e

8 Table 4 continued. Observations for Spills and Discharges Streams Does there appear to be a spill or discharge? Is there an unusual odor in the water? Is the water discolored? Please select the type of discoloration. Does the oily film break up when stirred? (This is likely a natural occurance) Is there foam present on the water? Does the foam break up when aggitated? (This is likely a natural occurance) Are there dead fish and/or other organisms are in the water or along the bank. Observations for Gas Migration or Leakage Is there gas bubbling to the surface? Unusual odor (due to mercaptan compounds smells like rotting cabbage) Is there an obvious source of leakage? Water Withdrawal Is there evidence of water withdrawal? Are water hoses in or adjacent to stream Please Describe: Is there an unusually low flow in the stream not related to drought conditions? <Oily> <Yellow/Orange> <White> <Black> enter text Where does the data go once it s entered? Data is managed by a secure database and housed on WVU servers. Our servers are backed up frequently with state-of-the-art security. For the next few months, you must contact QUEST if you would like an excel spreadsheet copy of the spreadsheet. However, we are working towards admin privileges for citizen-based groups that would allow exporting. Note: the admins will only be able to export data collected at sites by their respective group members, not the entire database. WVWRI then uploads data to an ArcGIS Online Interactive Data Map. Researchers, Agency personnel, and others can utilize the map to see what s going on in the Upper Ohio River Basin. Our director here at WVWRI frequently gives presentations to various audiences (policy makers, agency representatives, industry and citizen-based groups) regarding the health of our Mon River Basin and soon, the entire Upper Ohio River Basin. The data isn t going anywhere in a raw (spreadsheet) format. Viewable data is not exportable from the 3RQ website. We value our data and we know that you do as well. In a nutshell, we aren t going to share your data with other organizations; we know that site locations, volunteer names, etc, are not ours for sharing. We are simply providing the means to manage and display your volunteer data. 8 P a g e

9 Frequently Asked Questions Our group already has an online data entry form and database how can we work together? Give us a call! We may be able to find a way to link up to your existing database. Some of our sampling locations are outside of the Upper Ohio Basin boundaries.can we still enter that data via the QUEST Data Management Tool? Yes! Because our database system isn t limited by geographic boundaries, we can input data from site locations anywhere! We had started off over a year ago by focusing on the Monongahela River Basin and are now expanding into the Upper Ohio. While the 3RQ program s geographic focus is on the Ohio River Basin, partnering groups can use the data management tool for their sites which may be outside this area. Will we be able to use the QUEST Data Management Tool to create graphs and figures for our reporting purposes? Yes! This is something that our Research Office of Technology folks are currently working on. We anticipate that a great reporting tool will provide users with the ability to select locations and parameters for creation of user-defined graphs by early 2013! How do we get started? 1. Contact 3RQ to set up your sites. (visit 3RiversQuest.com). a. You will need your coordinates (in decimal degrees) and a site name. b. You will be given a username and can set up your own password. c. You will be provided instructions on how to enter data, and as always, we re just a phone call away if you run into any problems. 2. Enter your data! Can we enter data via our smartphone? Sure! Just use your phone s web browser to navigate to, and bookmark, the data entry portal at We realize that it can be cumbersome to navigate sometimes, so we re looking forward to creating a mobile web viewer to make this easier for folks! How do volunteers get trained on using the Data Management Tool? We re excited to work with our 3RQ Partners and established training programs to incorporate training for the use of our Data Management Tool. We are developing a training module that will be available on our website in addition to a training program that would be available to groups for training. Give us a call (visit 3RiversQuest.com for more information)! 9 P a g e

10 Contact Information: MONONGAHELA RIVER BASIN ALLEGHENY RIVER BASIN (southern) Melissa O Neal Melissa.O Neal@mail.wvu.edu ALLEGHENY RIVER BASIN (northern) John Stolz stolz@duq.edu UPPER OHIO RIVER BASIN Bruce Dickson bcdickson95@gmail.com Ben Stout bens@wju.edu 10 P a g e