The Resource Evaluation and Protection program provides data support to Division of Water programs, interagency partners and the public.

The Environmental Quality Information System (EQuIS)

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) maintains an EQuIS™ database, from EarthSoft® Inc., to store and analyze both field and laboratory data about facilities/sites that are the subject of regulatory, remediation, or other management efforts of the Department.

Division of Water EQuIS system content is supported by the Resource Protection Section. The EQuIS system is used to manage water quality data collected by or submitted to the Division of Water.

Subscribers report data electronically to the Department using Electronic Data Deliverables (EDDs) through the EQuIS System. Subscriber updates EQuIS Documents and References.

Data Management and Analysis

The Data Coordination group provides data management and analysis to support the work of the Division. The group provides geospatial data support to Division programs, interagency partners and the public.

Services include data acquisition, analysis, coordination of data updates, map layer development, field application development and program-specific basemap development.

The data coordination group also supports the Division of Water Digital Resources page, which includes searchable access to permit application status information and documentation for existing permits for many Division of Water programs.

The group facilitates access to a comprehensive repository of commonly-used, water resources related geospatial data layers provided by Delaware’s Open Data Portal and the FirstMap Open Geospatial Data system.

Geospatial Data Systems Support

The Program supports ongoing work and project initiatives that use Geospatial Data Systems. Location data is gathered through field work and the use of available sources.  

The DNREC Division of Water creates and maintains geospatial data related to its regulatory, permitting and research activities to protect and manage Delaware’s water resources. The Division’s Geospatial Data page lists and links to public-facing geospatial data managed by the Division.

Geospatial datasets are a combination of location information (where things are) and attribute data (what we know about those things). The Division of Water’s geospatial datasets show where water‑related facilities, activities and resources are located across the state, helping users see patterns, understand relationships and make informed decisions about water management and environmental conditions.

The Resource Evaluation Program also makes use of FirstMap, Delaware’s enterprise Geographic Information System (GIS). FirstMap is a platform for sharing GIS data among state organizations, academia, local government and the general public. More than 200 layers of information are available for download, including data layers, imagery, and documents.

Publicly-Available Datasets and Tools

Much of the data collected and analyzed, or funded, by the Resource Evaluation Program is publicly available online via a number of different online data repositories.

Find ambient groundwater quality monitoring data on the University of Delaware’s Center for Environmental Monitoring and Analysis Water Quality Portal and on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Quality Exchange (WQx).

Find real-time water levels in selected ambient ground water monitoring wells across the state on the Delaware Environmental Observation System (DEOS) Station Data page. Groundwater level data collected by the Program is located in the Hydrological Data View.

The Resource Evaluation Program has supported two other statewide water resource tools developed by the Delaware Climate Office, the Center for Environmental Monitoring and Analysis and the Delaware Geological Survey.

The Delaware Drought Resources page provides data and other resources related to tracking drought conditions in the state of Delaware, including local ground and surface water levels as well as local and national precipitation data.

The Delaware Water Tracker aggregates relevant data resources and information used to assess water availability throughout Delaware, particularly the groundwater level in the surficial aquifer, into one location. Depending on the parameter, data in the Delaware Water Tracker is updated daily or weekly. All data are provided as percentiles, based on data from 2010 through the mostly recently completed calendar year.

Related Topics:  data, resource protection, water