What are the capabilities of the tool?

The Water Quality Portal (WQP) Data Discovery tool is a desktop application that provides an easy to use interface allowing users to search, summarize, QC and display data from the WQP.

What data is available?

The Data Discovery Tool, developed by the EPA and powered by the Water Quality Portal Exit services, allows you to access publicly available water-quality data from the EPA Storage and Retrieval Data Warehouse (STORET), USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), and USDA ARS Sustaining the Earth's Watersheds, Agricultural Research Data System (STEWARDS).

How can I get the tool and get started using it?

The tool uses open source R, a statistical programming language and several add-on packages, to visualize the data selected from the portal and to assist users in data analysis.  You must have at least version 3.2.1 of R on your computer to run the tool, which can be downloaded from the Comprehensive R Archive Network Exit.  After R is installed, download the Water Quality Portal Data Discovery Tool (ZIP)(1 pg, 2 MB) , unzip the file to your local file directory and reference the Quick Start Guide to get started using the tool.