Water Sampling Component Information

WATER QUALITY LIABILITY DISCLAIMER AND FORMAT DESCRIPTION 
Disclaimer
These data have been generated by State agencies under contract with the 
Department of the Interior and the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center 
(UMESC).  Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer 
system at the UMESC, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding the 
accuracy or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific 
purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.  Error 
correction is a continuing process, and UMESC corrects data data errors 
routinely when a correct value can be determined.  UMESC does not delete 
questionable data when the correct value cannot be determined, but attempts to 
mark such data with an appropriate flag. Users are strongly cautioned to check 
the accuracy of any data obtained and to report suspected values to UMESC.  
Methods, purposes, and conditions can vary dramatically among data-collecting 
efforts and these data should not be combined with other datasets from the UMESC 
or other sources unless the user fully understands the procedures and purposes 
used to create each set of data and can verify that data are comparable across 
sources.
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WATER QUALITY TREND ANALYSIS DATA
The Long Term Resource Monitoring Program (LTRMP) sampling effort has evolved 
steadily since its inception in 1988. Three LTRMP field stations began taking 
limnological measurements in Pools 8, 13, and 26 of the Upper Mississippi River 
in the summer of 1988. Sampling in La Grange Pool of the Illinois River began in 
September 1989.  A few months later (January 1990), LTRMP water quality sampling 
commenced in Pool 4 (Lake Pepin), and a year later (March 1991), sampling was 
begun on the open river reach near Cape Girardeau, Missouri.  All six field 
stations have operated continuously since joining the LTRMP. As the LTRMP field 
stations have grown, the parameters measured in water quality monitoring have 
gradually expanded.  From 1988 to 1991, the LTRMP limnological sampling effort 
was limited to a basic suite of field measurements that required no laboratory 
analysis. A limited suite of laboratory analyses was added to the water quality 
effort in 1991 (these samples were analyzed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
Waterways Experiment Station, in Vicksburg, Mississippi).  In 1993, the LTRMP 
developed an interna analytical lab, and  the list of parameters was further 
expanded. Some reduction in parameters is possible in 1996, but this decision is 
still pending. 
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FOREWARD
Use of LTRMP Trend Data for Water Quality Monitoring The LTRMP performs basic 
limnological field measurements in the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS).  
Correct interpretation of the resulting measurements requires that the user 
understand the design, intent, and history of the sampling effort.  Some of the 
necessary information is provided below, but all users of LTRMP limnological 
data are strongly encouraged to read and understand the Water Quality section of 
the LTRMP Procedures Manual (Soballe et al. 1995), which describes in greater 
detail both historical and current procedures.  This document is accessible by 
request from: Water Quality Coordinator Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences 
Center U.S. Geological Survey 2630 Fanta Reed Road La Crosse, WI  54603 USA Tel: 
(608) 781-6216, ext. 126 Fax: (608) 783-6066
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SUMMARY 
LTRMP Water Quality Sampling Design The basic design of the sampling effort was 
revised in 1993.  From July 1988 through June 1993, the LTRMP performed weekly 
limnological measurements at 15-30 permanently fixed sampling locations in each 
study area.  These sampling locations were chosen without randomization (or 
replicaton) to represent 23 general habitat types and typical river reaches in 
the UMRS. This approach did not meet the needs of the program, and in June 1993, 
a new sampling design was implemented which incorporated both fixed-site 
sampling (at a revised set of sampling sites on a bi-weekly basis), stratified 
random sampling (on a quarterly basis), and an expanded set of measurements.  
Fixed-site sampling is now used to monitor tributaries, headwaters, tailwaters, 
and other points of special interest.  Randomized sampling is used to 
characterize broad aquatic (habitat) areas. Special care is required to combine 
current data with data from the period prior to this design change.  
Interpretation of the stratified random sampling data collected after June 1993 
also requires additional information.  Users are strongly encouraged to consult 
the LTRMP procedures manual(s) and UMESC staff to determine the applicability of 
these data to specific applications. 
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REFERENCES 
Soballe, D. M., R. Burkhardt, K. Lubinski, R. Burdis, T. Clemment, J. Fischer, 
L. Hodge-Richardson, L. Conaway, J. Frazier, D. Gould, M. Steuck, E. Ratcliff, 
M. Sitzes, S. Stenzel, and R. Wright.  1995.  Long Term Resoure Monitoring 
Program Procedures:  Water Quality Monitoring.  U.S. Geological Survey, 
Biological Resources Divsion, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La 
Crosse, Wisconsin (in press). 
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WATER FIELDS FORMAT MID-1993 DATA OR EARLIER IS SORTED BY DATE AND TIME, 
LOCATION CODE, AND SAMPLE DEPTH IN THAT ORDER. MID-1993 DATA OR LATER IS SORTED 
BY BARCODE ONLY.
THE "FORMAT" COLUMN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING FORMAT SPECIFIERS:
"a": alpha character (always UPPER case);
"b": a blank space; 
"blank": a missing value;
"c": alpha character/symbol/digit;
"c(xx)": character string where xx represents the maximum number of characters 
allowed; 
"9": any digit, 0 - 9; 
"MM/DD/YYYY": date format; 
"HH:MI": time format; 

HISTORICAL SUMMARY

FIELD DESCRIPTIONS

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