This data release includes water-quality data collected at 38 sites in central and eastern Massachusetts from April 2018 through May 2019 by the U.S. Geological Survey to support the implementation of site-dependent aluminum criteria for Massachusetts waters. Samples of effluent and receiving surface waters were collected monthly at four wastewater-treatment facilities (WWTFs) and seven water-treatment facilities (WTFs) (see SWQ_data_and_instantaneous_CMC_CCC_values.txt). The measured properties and constituents include pH, hardness, and filtered (dissolved) organic carbon, which are required inputs to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Aluminum Criteria Calculator version 2.0 (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2018). Outputs from the Aluminum Criteria Calculator are also provided in that file; these outputs consist of acute (Criterion Maximum Concentration, CMC) and chronic (Criterion Continuous Concentration, CCC) instantaneous water-quality values for total recoverable aluminum, calculated for monthly samples at selected ambient sites near each of the 11 facilities. Quality-control data from blank, replicate, and spike samples are provided (see SWQ_QC_data.txt). In addition to data tables, the data release includes time series graphs of the discrete water-quality data (see SWQ_plot_discrete_all.zip). For pH, time series graphs also are provided showing pH from the discrete monthly water-quality samples as well as near-continuous pH measured at one surface-water site at each facility (see SWQ_plot_contin_discrete_pH.zip). The near-continuous pH data, along with all of the discrete water-quality data except the quality-control data, are also available online from the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Information System (NWIS) database (https://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis).
Reference:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2018, Final aquatic life ambient water quality criteria for aluminum—2018: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, document EPA–822–R–18–001, 161 p., apps., accessed March 12, 2020, at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-12/documents/aluminum-final-national-recommended-awqc.pdf.
