A field data platform supporting water organizations across the Great Lakes region — designed around Lake Erie basin monitoring objectives and Ohio EPA assessment protocols.
Field Protocols
Lake Erie Basin Assessment Framework — a comprehensive biological and water quality monitoring protocol for Lake Erie tributary streams.
Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index — Ohio EPA protocol for assessing instream and riparian habitat quality.
Headwater Habitat Evaluation Index — rapid assessment protocol for small, intermittent, and headwater streams.
Headwater Macroinvertebrate Field Evaluation Index — Ohio EPA rapid bioassessment protocol for headwater and small stream macroinvertebrate communities.
Platform Technology
Every reach definition, QHEI assessment, and watershed boundary pulls from federal geospatial datasets automatically — so field teams collect data, not coordinates.
Hover the labels — each explains what the platform resolves automatically
Click any two points near a stream. The platform snaps both to the nearest NHD vertex, traces the hydrographic path between them, queries 3DEP elevation at each endpoint, and returns gradient, distance, and drop — automatically.
The USGS NHD is the authoritative stream network for the United States — every named stream, tributary, and artificial path, with FCode classification (perennial, intermittent, canal, etc.) and ReachCode identifiers.
USGS HUC-8, HUC-10, and HUC-12 watershed delineations provide the geographic container for every monitoring site. Boundaries are fetched by HUC code and stored as GeoJSON.
The USGS National Map 3DEP service provides 1/3 arc-second (~10m) elevation data across the contiguous US. Elevation is queried at individual coordinates using the EPQS point-elevation API.
The USDA NRCS Soil Data Access (SDA) service provides soil map unit polygons, series names, hydrologic soil groups, and land capability classes for any geographic extent via WFS and tabular queries.
All field forms and the Explore map support multiple basemap layers: OpenStreetMap streets, USGS National Map topo (with elevation contours and stream labeling), and OpenTopoMap. Layers are switchable in the field.
Every LEBAF and QHEI observation is stored with its reach GeoJSON, HUC code, NHD ReachCode, watershed area, and observer metadata — ready for spatial analysis or submission to state and federal databases.
About the Program
The Soil & Water Conservation Monitor is built for water organizations and conservation districts working across the Lake Erie watershed. The platform connects field teams to standardized assessment protocols, supporting tributary health monitoring and Lake Erie water quality objectives.