User Guide

AQuIA has almost 2 million water quality records, thousands of monitoring sites, and lots of other information available at your fingertips. This User Guide aims to get you up and running as quickly as possible.

Data Disclaimer

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions, and other tips to help you get started:

• Do I need to log in?
  • No! The login is for database administrators only. Other users can view all available public information without logging into the database.
• What does _____ mean?
  • Terms, data definitions, and other information can be found in the Reference Codex.
• How do I find the data I need?
  • Depending on what you're looking for, there are several ways to find data in AQuIA. All begin on the Home page, under the "Search the database" column on the left-hand side.
    • The most commonly used method to find data will be clicking on "Data Search". From that page, you can select a facility to choose what type of data you want. For example, surface water data (lakes, wetlands, rivers, etc) collected by DNR will be under the facility called '21IOWA'. For more information on which data each facility contains, please view the facilities page. After selecting a facility, the next requirement is to select a query type. Here, you may search by one or more sites, by a group, by a task code (task codes are individual programs within a facility, such as the AMBIENT monitoring program in 21IOWA), by analyte, or by analyte group. The options presented after selecting a query type will be based on the query type selected. Continuing should be self-explanatory- no PhD required!
    • You may also search by using the map or by the name of the waterbody
• Can I download the data I need?
  • To download the data, click on the button in the upper right corner of the table.
• How should the database be cited?
  • Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources, 2024, AQuIA Water Monitoring Database, online at https://programs.iowadnr.gov/aquia/, accessed on (date of access).
• I still can't find what I need!
  
• • Feel free to contact us.