We are helping to enhance Colorado's watersheds and water quality by providing
CDSN's data partners and Colorado's citizens with an accessible and affordable tool kit
for data management, data analysis, and data sharing.
Hint: Use the Public Login (cdsnpublic & cdsnpublic) to view/download/analyze/export data for more than one organization at a time.
All users wishing to view data for multiple data providers, or a data provider different than themselves MUST use the Public Portal Login.
PUBLIC PORTAL
The public login will give you read-only access to view, query, chart, graph, and download all shared public data for all of the organizations using the CDSN AWQMS database. Modification of data is not allowed with the public login.
This portal allows a CDSN data provider organization to login to upload, edit, and interact with their own data. To combine data with others' for charts, graphs, queries, and downloads, logout and log back in as "cdsnpublic".
This portal allows you to practice uploading projects, monitoring locations, and results into CDSN without an actual Organization ID or password. No changes will be permanently saved; all practice work will disappear when the session is terminated. The Demo Portal and demo import configurations may not be identical to the look and feel of CDSN's custom version of AWQMS. After logging in, the home page allows you to reset the data in the environment and also provides links to simulated data files you can use to try out the import features of AWQMS.
Easy To Use, Full Featured Water Quality Monitoring System
The Ambient Water Quality Monitoring System (AWQMS) is a web-based data management system for ambient water quality data. AWQMS provides a single, intuitive tool for consolidating, validating, analyzing, assessing, and sharing your sampling results, observations, and assessments.
The Easiest Way to Submit Your Water Quality Data to Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Water Quality Control Division (CDPHE WQCD) and to EPA's Water Quality Exchange (WQX)
Once your data is in AWQMS, it can be submitted to CDPHE for Regulation 85 and other triennial data requests by simply directing CDSN to download the relevant data and to submit it on your behalf. Data uploaded into CDSN's AWQMS is compatible with the EPA's Water Quality Exchange (WQX). You can submit your data to WQX with the click of a button or even configure AWQMS to automatically submit changed data to WQX each night. You control IF data flows to WQX, WHAT data flows, and WHEN data flows.
Features to Consolidate, Validate, Analyze, Assess & Share Your Data Efficiently
AWQMS includes the following core functionality:
• A highly configurable batch import module, supporting a wide range of import formats and file types (including text files an Excel)
• Handles continuous/time-series data
• Customizable data entry forms with many time-saving features
• Enforces all WQX validation rules
• Customizable validation of parameter combinations (such as which measurement units are allowed for a particular analyte)
• Customizable value range checking (such as the appropriate range of values for pH)
• Data management pages for searching, reviewing, and editing data
• Batch update tools assist with identifying data inconsistencies and correcting multiple records at a time
• Data analysis tools provide reports, graphs, maps, and data exports
• Submit data to WQX (manually or configure automated daily submissions)
• Beach Monitoring and Reporting (using EPA's Beach Notification/PRAWN)
• Trip Planning
• Tools to assist with assessments (including Assessment Units, Designated Uses, and Acute/Chronic Thresholds to flag exceedances)
• Integrate AWQMS with other systems via web services •
Supports a Broad Assortment of Data
AWQMS includes comprehensive support for the data types included in EPA's Water Quality Exchange (WQX) as well as other data types:
• Physical conditions of a site
• Chemical and bacteriological make-up of the water
• Chemical analyses of fish tissue
• Biological data including: taxon abundance/population census, frequency class counts, group summaries, and individual measurements
• Toxicity data
• Habitat and Biological Assessments
• Continuous/Real-time results from data loggers
• Basic support for air and soil data as well •
Development and Support
CDSN's AWQMS developer, Gold Systems, has been providing water quality data management systems for nearly 20 years and is an active participant in developing and maintaining critical data management systems for the Environmental Protection Agency. CDSN and Gold Systems collaboratively enhanced AWQMS and the CDSN Tool Kit by designing and integrating the external and internal monitoring location and exceedance mapping applications, by customizing analysis tools, and by making web services available to retrieve and display data in AQWMS. Gold Systems deploys one or more AWQMS upgrades annually that incorporates new features requested by users.
Join CDSN - Become a New CDSN Data Organization!
When you are ready to join, contact CDSN, so we can learn about your organization's specific needs and get you started. CDSN offers many types of training opportunities such as webinars, presentations, group trainings and one-on-one assistance.
New users find the general AWQMS information, userguides and tutorials helpful.
Check out the Guidance for Lab Outputs tab to learn how you can work with a lab to get a time-saving upload-friendly lab output.
Data Upload Templates & Resources
CDSN upload templates meet or exceed the Minimum Data Elements required by CDPHE and EPA WQX. Using CDSN's upload templates helps your data comply with requirements for WQCD Regulation 85, Regulations 31-38, and CDPHE's Non-Point Source and Measurable Results Programs.
AWQMS updates are deployed every six to twelve months; new data elements are often added. Please contact CDSN for the latest templates and matching import configurations if they are not linked below.
Guidance for Lab Outputs
If you are just starting a sampling program or are currently sampling, you can save time and money by asking for your lab data in a WQX-friendly format that contains all of the CDSN minimum data elements. It is never too late to change how your data comes to you from your lab.
Ask your lab to provide your data in a WQX-compatible, comma- or tab-deliminated text file, or a spreadsheet, preferably with one result in each row. Cutting and pasting lab results column by column into the CDSN Upload Template is faster and more reliable than hand-entering lab results from a lab report in .pdf format. Even better, ask your lab to match the order of columns that are in the CDSN Upload Template, or get a WQX-compatible SCRIBE output.
While there may be upfront cost and effort in getting your preferred lab to create a CDSN-WQCD upload friendly lab output, the savings in time and the reduction of possible human errors during the final formatting process is a huge benefit. You can capitalize on the efforts by existing CDSN data providers that have already been made. Several Colorado labs are providing CDSN-friendly data files. These lab outputs are WQX compatible and meet the CDSN and CDPHE minimum data requirements. There will still be some minor final formatting required.
Minimum data elements are metadata, qualifiers, and information about your activity and result that satisfy CDSN AWQMS requirements and WQCD requirements for submitting programmatic data. CDSN is here to assist you in making sure your data is uploaded accurately and completely, however we do not analyze or "judge" your data.
Known Labs with CDSN/WQX-Friendly Output Files:
CDSN has worked with the labs below to obtain "CDSN-WQCD" upload-friendly lab output files. While CDSN does not endorse labs this is a list of labs that have output formats that are CDSN and WQX compatible and therefore will have lab output files that are more likely to be efficiently and accurately uploaded. All of the lab output options below will still have some cutting/pasting and final formatting that is needed prior to upload, but will require less time and effort than multi-page lab outputs as pdfs. If you know of a lab that should be added to this list, please contact us.
CDSN "AWQMS" Data Managment System.
AWQMS One-Pager
