CARTEEH logo with green car and plant

Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy, and Health (CARTEEH)

A USDOT University Transportation Center

Measured Water or Soil Quality Before and After Intervention

Measured air and soil quality is a measure of water and soil conditions relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species or to any human need or purpose. This indicator assesses the quality of water and soil using various parameters like pH, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (tss), nutrients, heavy meters, bacteria and viruses, or microplastics.1 Other parameters used in the assessment of soil quality are particulate organic matter, soil pH, slaking, infiltration, or soil enzymes.2

This indicator helps determine the effectiveness of the following objectives

  • Less Contamination
  • Less Emissions
  • Less Traffic Noise
  • Connectivity and Inclusion
  • Healthy Destinations
  • Less Traffic Violence
  • Active Transportation
  • Green Space

Data Collection

Data on water quality can be collected from the Water Quality Portal, the largest source of water quality monitoring data. The Water Quality Portal (WQP) uses the Water Quality Exchange (WQX) data format to share over 380 million water quality data records from 900 federal, state, tribal and other partners. The data is made accessible to anyone, including the public.3 Data on soil quality is stored by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The data is made accessible on the official website of the organization.4

Examples

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Water and Soil Quality

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for conducting research to analyze water and soil quality. The EPA uses this information to set standards and regulations to protect the environment and human health. The EPA has established several programs to monitor and assess water and soil quality, such as the National Water Quality Assessment Program and the National Soil Survey Center. These programs provide data that is used to develop policies and regulations to protect our waters and soils. The EPA also works with state and local governments, tribes, businesses, and individuals to promote stewardship of our water resources. Through these partnerships, the EPA strives to ensure that all Americans have clean water to drink, safe water to swim in, and healthy soils to grow our food.

https://www.epa.gov/wqc

1. What are the 6 main indicators of water quality [Internet]. Atlas Scientific. 2021 [cited 2022 Aug 5]. Available from: https://atlas-scientific.com/blog/what-are-the-main-indicators-of-water-quality/
2. Sparling, G.P. Soil quality: Indicators. In: Managing Soils and Terrestrial Systems. CRC Press; 2020. p. 357–60.
3. Gao, H., Lv, C., Song, Y., Zhang, Y., Zheng, L., Wen, Y., et al. Chemometrics data of water quality and environmental heterogeneity analysis in Pu River, China. Environ Earth Sci [Internet]. 2015 [cited 2022 Aug 5];73(9):5119–29. Available from: https://www.epa.gov/waterdata/water-quality-data
4. Data [Internet]. Usda.gov. [cited 2022 Aug 5]. Available from: https://www.usda.gov/topics/data