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This data set contains locations of and information on water quality monitoring sites that are within EPA's Storage and Retrieval (STORET) System. Water quality monitoring information comes from EPA's STORET System, a repository of physical, chemical and biological monitoring data from state and federal agencies, watershed organizations, volunteer groups and many others. Surface water, Ground water, and Others are general categories for more specific STORET Station Types. Water quality monitoring is a crucial aspect to protecting water resources. State, Tribal, and Federal agencies must monitor lakes, streams, rivers, and other types of water bodies to assist them in determining water quality condition. From these monitoring activities, water quality monitoring data is generated. Without this data, water resource managers cannot know where pollution problems exist, where we need to focus our pollution control energies, or where we've made progress. The STORET Data Warehouse is EPA's repository of the water quality monitoring data collected by water resource management groups across the country. These organizations, including states, tribes, watershed groups, other federal agencies, volunteer groups and universities, submit data to the STORET Warehouse in order to make their data publically accessible. Data can then be re-used for analysis. WQX is the framework by which organizations submit data to the Warehouse. |