Water Quality > Water Quality Reports & Research Tools

Water Quality Reports & Research Tools

Learn about your waterway using the databases, maps and other resources assembled here. If you find a link that is no longer active please let us know [email protected]

RIVERKEEPER REPORTS

Riverkeeper publishes reports that summarize and provide context for our ongoing monitoring projects. Find them here.

COMMUNITY SCIENCE OPEN DATASET

An open dataset of Enterococcus and E. coli data collected by Riverkeeper and partner organizations from Hudson River tributaries. Learn more >

FACTSHEETS

COMMUNITY RESOURCES

Municipalities that want to take action based on our data can find information at our Community Resources for Improving Water Quality page.

COUNTY DATA

Greene County Web Map
Greene County’s interactive map displays streams on a topographic background map. There are also clickable layers with locations of wetlands and flood zones.

Rockland County Base Map
This mapping interface allows users to view a variety of map layers including economic, historic, transportation and land use information. The environmental map layers include nested watershed boundaries and streams. Clicking on the features displays pop-ups that show NYSDEC information about the water features.

Ulster County Web Map
Ulster County’s web mapper displays watershed boundaries, stream courses and stormwater outfalls. Users can also map other stream-related features, like stormwater catch basins and culverts, as well as areas subject to regulation under the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit program.

Westchester County Geographic Information Systems Mapper
Westchester County’s mapper lets users search by location within a specific theme (such as sewer district), or zoom in on an area of interest and display map layers such as watershed boundaries, locations of septic tanks and wastewater treatment plants, citizen science sampling locations, and fish and wildlife habitats.

NEW YORK STATE DATA

Hudson Valley Natural Resource Mapper
This map depicts information about the Hudson River estuary, its tributary streams, wetlands, forests and biodiversity. Note that additional layers appear when you zoom in to an area of interest.

NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Environmental Resource Mapper
Zoom in on an area of interest and see the locations, names and classifications of waterways in the vicinity. You can also see the locations of wetlands, high quality habitat areas and records of rare or listed species.

NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Stormwater Interactive Map
This site uses the same mapping platform as the Environmental Resource Mapper, but with data layers showing areas regulated under the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) program as well as the locations of combined sewer overflow (CSO) outfalls and stormwater permits.

NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Google Earth and Maps Data
NYS DEC has a list of map-based information that can be downloaded for use in Google Earth, or viewed in Google Maps. The available information includes locations of combined sewer overflow (CSO) outfalls, communities subject to regulation under Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) regulations and impaired and priority waterways. There are also map layers that show the locations of recreational access points, significant habitat areas and remediation sites.

NYS GIS Clearinghouse
Search GIS inventories by data owner or theme. Some datasets are available for free download, while for others you must contact the dataset owner. Use of these datasets requires GIS software.

NATIONAL DATA

Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) Pollutant Loading Tool
This database focuses on pollutants discharged from wastewater treatment plants. There are several ways to search the database—by location, pollutant, facility name, permit number and others. The information provided includes permit limits and estimates annual pollutant discharges. The results include links to ECHO database facility reports (see below).

EPA’s ECHO Database
The ECHO database contains nationwide information on facilities with environmental permits, as well as compliance and enforcement history for these permits. Users can search the database by municipality, watershed or facility name and results are displayed on a map. The ECHO website also has a mapping and graphing features that enable users to compare New York with other states in terms of regulated facilities, inspections, violations, enforcement and penalties.

EPA Watershed Assessment, Tracking and Environmental Results System (WATERS) Tools
The following five tools all utilize the same body of water quality information compiled by EPA from state reports.

  • How’s My Waterway?
    The How’s My Waterway? interface is a user-friendly tool for searching water quality information by zip code or by current location. The tool reports water quality status, and provides links to technical documents.
  • My WATERS Mapper
    The My WATERS Mapper displays the locations of State Pollution Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit holders and the sampling locations used by state and federal agencies. Users can see basic information about water permits or link to more detailed reports, and can download water quality sampling data for a station or an area. This mapper has a more user-friendly interface than the Clip N Ship application, but it does not generate spatial data files.
  • Clip N Ship Application
    Use this site to download files of the locations of State Pollution Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit holders, federal and state water quality sampling sites and other base information about watersheds and waterways. Users can choose from a variety of file formats, including those compatible with Google Earth and ArcGIS.
  • Geospatial Data Downloads
    WATERS data layers are available here for download in formats compatible with ArcGIS and Google Earth. Unlike the Clip N Ship Application, users can not specify the boundaries of the area of interest.
  • Water Quality Assessment and Total Maximum Daily Loads Information
    NYSDEC is required to assess waterways and reports results to the EPA, along with the list of impaired waterways, every two years. This database allows users to quickly obtain a summary of assessment results, including impairments and their known or suspected causes. The site also provides information about Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) where available.

National Water Quality Monitoring Council Water Quality Portal
This website allows users to download water quality sampling data collected by the EPA (including information reported by states) and USGS. Users can search by municipality, latitude and longitude or watershed. The dataset includes information that NYSDEC collects through the Rotating Integrated Basin Studies (RIBS) program and uses to determine waterbody impairments.

Tell Gov. Hochul to block invasive species at the Erie and Champlain canals
Become a Member