Data Exchange Description
This exchange enables participants to submit through the Exchange Network water quality assessment and spatial data associated with Integrated Reporting under sections 303(d)/305(b) of the Clean Water Act.
The OWIR-ATT data flow provides the means for States to submit Integrated Reporting (303(d)/305(b)) water quality assessment data. This data set is taken from the state’s assessment data management system and submitted through the state Exchange Network node for inclusion in EPA’s Assessment, TMDL Tracking And ImplementatioN System (ATTAINS). For more information on ATTAINS, please visit http://www.epa.gov/waters/ir.
The OWIR data flow is used in conjunction with the NHDEvent data flow to exchange spatial representations of the water assessment units reported in the OWIR-ATT submissions along with links to the underlying National Hydrography Dataset. These links, which are stream (reach) addresses, are also referred to as ‘NHD events.’ These spatial data are submitted through the state Exchange Network node for inclusion in EPA’s Reach Address Database (RAD). While the NHDEvent data flow was initially developed for use with the OWIR-ATT data flow, it can also be used for the submission of any NHD events that link other program data, such as STORET WQX, to the underlying NHD. For more information on the RAD and creating NHD events, please see the “About WATERS” section at http://www.epa.gov/waters.
Major Components
The state’s assessment data management system contains information on the water quality assessment of state waters, which are required by the Clean Water Act Sections 305(b) and 303(d) to be reported to the EPA on a biennial basis. ATTAINS is a web interface and database that displays and stores these state-reported water quality assessment and impairment data.
Project Summary and Future Directions
EPA recently made updates to the OWIR-ATT schema to meet the current reporting specifications and to automate the receipt, review, and processing of assessment decision data received via this flow. The EPA is now ready to accept test and production submissions using version 2.0 of the OWIR-ATT schema and version 2.0 of the NHDEvent data flow.
In 2010, EPA will begin working on a multi-year effort to develop the Water Quality Conditions and Integrated Reporting Data Standard. In conjunction with this effort, EPA will solicit feedback from states on the tools currently used to submit Integrated Report data to assist in developing plans for future submission mechanisms.
For more information on the schema and documentation review, you can read the developer’s Schema Conformance Report and the accompanying NTG Conformance Review. For additional information on the review process, please visit the section on Publishing a Data Exchange.
Version Notes
Status: Supported
The OWIR documentation package has been received and reviewed by the NTG Conformance Committee. The Committee has deemed the schema and supporting flow documentation acceptable for use on the Exchange Network. The most recent version of the OWIR data exchange is version 2.0. The following links are to implementation resources for this most recent version.
Resources
- Flow Configuration Document
- IR Attribute Module (OWIR-ATT)
- NHDEvent Data Flow
