The South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC) recently became the first state environmental agency to streamline its approach to sharing water quality monitoring data with EPA. South Carolina’s data can now automatically flow through EPA’s Water Quality Exchange (WQX) into the Water Quality Portal – the nation’s premier source of water quality data, jointly run by the U.S. Geological Survey and EPA.
The data sharing approach relies on technology known as Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), which allow data systems to talk with one another and share data or functionality. EPA’s WQX team supports the APIs to help states, tribes, and community groups simplify and automate their contributions to the Water Quality Portal. More participation means more data available for critical watershed planning and research.
Visit U.S. EPA’s WQX API webpage to learn how your organization can automate its contributions to the Water Quality Portal. Congratulations to South Carolina for becoming the first state in the nation to implement this modern approach to data sharing.
For more information, contact Sean Briggs of South Carolina DHEC.
