DEQ seeks scientific data on Idaho waters for 2024 Integrated Report
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking scientific data to assist the agency in evaluating water quality in all Idaho rivers, streams, lakes and reservoirs for the 2024 Integrated Report.
The report describes DEQ’s ongoing efforts to monitor, assess, track, and restore the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the state’s surface waters.
Within the report, water bodies are classified into at least one of five categories, ranging from meeting water quality standards to impairment by one or more pollutants.
DEQ welcomes submittal of water quality data to assess water bodies for all categories in the Integrated Report. Particularly useful are data collected within the last five years (2018 to the present) that have not been previously submitted to DEQ. For all submitted data, provide a monitoring plan with the quality assurance and quality controls reported.
Before submitting data, interested parties are advised to review DEQ’s Water Body Assessment Guidance to learn more about how the agency uses external data for water quality assessments, particularly Section 4.2: Existing and Readily Available Data Policy. Interested parties are also advised to review the additional guidance sheet for more information about commonly submitted water quality data.
The deadline for submitting data is Feb. 6, 2023, at 5 p.m. MST. Submit data on DEQ’s Monitoring and Assessment page. For questions or more information, contact Dan Eardley at (208) 373-0147 or at dan.eardley@deq.idaho.gov.
