Water Quality Information

Humboldt State University
Research Tools for Conducting a Search for Water Resources & Water Quality Information--page 1

RESEARCH TOOLS FOR CONDUCTING A SEARCH FOR
WATER RESOURCES & WATER QUALITY INFORMATION

I. Introduction.

This handout is one of a series designed to introduce you to scientific and technical literature in water resources and water quality, strategies for searching the literature in those areas, and research tools available to assist in conducting a search. For a discussion of a general strategy for searching the scientific and technical literature, see the companion handout Literature Search Strategy for the Sciences. For a general introduction to the types of literature where water resources and water quality information is found see the library handouts The Literature of Environmental Engineering and Environmental Engineering Indexes. These handouts list some of the research tools available in the HSU Library for conducting a search for water resources and water quality information.

II. Reference Materials

Reference materials serve a variety of purposes. They can be utilized to find concise factual information--directories and statistical compilations; read topical overviews--dictionaries, encyclopedias and handbooks; identify research done on specific topics--reviews and bibliographies; and locate standard methods and procedures--handbooks and manuals. Many can be used as starting points which lead you to specific research which has appeared in the "primary" literature.

The following list of reference materials is not meant to be comprehensive, but only a sampling of some reference materials which are available:

A. Literature Guides. In a sense, this handout is a literature guide. Listed below are more formal ones which provide extensive listings of research literature and reference materials in water resources and water quality.

Giefer. 1976. Sources of Information in Water Resources (ref TC 405 G54)

Miller. 1992. Water Quality and Availability: A Reference Handbook (ref TD 223 M53)

U.S. Environmental Science Services Administration. Selective Guide to Climatic Data Sources (Docs Abstract C 55.219:4.11) Guide to climatological publications available from Federal agencies.

B. Dictionaries and Encyclopedias. Provide definitions of discipline-specific terminology and/or general introductions to concepts and topics in water resources and water quality. Some include references back to the primary literature.

American Public Health Association. 1981. Glossary: Water and Wastewater Control Engineering (ref TD 9 G55)

Gleick. 1993. Water in Crisis: A Guide to the World's Freshwater Resources (ref TD 345 W264) Contains background information and water data in tabular format

Huschke. 1959. Glossary of Meteorology (ref QC 854 G55)

Nelson. 1973. Dictionary of Water and Water Engineering (ref TC 403 N44)

Richard. 1978. Glossary of Selected Hydrologic Terms & Water Quality Terms (ref GB 655 R4)

Van der Leeden. 1990. Water Encyclopedia (ref TD 351 V36) Collection of water resources data, facts and statistics arranged in tabular format.

Veatch. 1966. Water and Water Use Terminology (ref TD 392 V36)

C. Directories. Commonly these are alphabetical and/or subject listings of people, organizations, or products.
1. International

International Reference Centre for Community Water Supply and Sanitation. 1986. Interwater Directory of Sources of Information and Documentation on Community Water Supply and Sanitation (ref TD 327 I58)

2. National

Association of Environmental Engineering Professors. Register of Environmental Engineering Graduate Programs (ref TD 157.2 R44)

Thomas Register of American Manufacturers and Thomas Register Catalog File (ref T 12 T6)

U.S. Geological Survey. 1990. Water Resources Directory of the National Water Data Exchange Newtork, Western Region (Docs I 19.76:90-0589)

3. Federal

U.S. EPA (annual) Access EPA (ref Docs EP 1.8/3:Ac2)

U.S. EPA. 1993. Guide to Federal Water Quality Programs and Information (Docs EP 1.8:W29 microfiche)

U.S. EPA. 1994. How EPA Works: A Guide to EPA Organization and Functions (Ref TD 171 U55)

4. California

California. EPA. 1994. California Environmental Technology & Services Directory (Cal Doc E 5000 E57)

California Department of Water Resources. Climatological Stations in California (Cal Doc W750 B9 #165) Listing by county of current and historical weather stations giving location, elevation, years of record, and agency holding record.

California Department of Water Resources. Index to Sources of Hydrologic Data (Cal Doc W50 B9 #230)

California Institute of Public Affairs. California Water Resources Directory; a guide to organizations and information resources (ref TC 424 C2 C35)

University of California. Water Resources Center. Directory of Water Resources Expertise (ref TC 424 C2 D57)

D. Reviews. Scientific reviews or "state-of-the-art" reviews critically survey a narrow topic and identify and evaluate research which has appeared in the "primary" literature. Extensive bibliographies of cited "primary" literature are commonly included. Scientific reviews typically appear in annual publications entitled "Annual review of...," "Advances in ...," as well as in journals, especially those which have "review" as part of the title. Annual reviews often have cumulative indexes and individual review papers are commonly included in indexes. Annual reviews of interest in water resources and water quality include:

Advances in Aquatic Microbiology (QR 105 A38)

Advances in Hydroscience (GB 653 A27)

Research Journal of the Water Pollution Control Federation. "Annual Literature Review" (periodical TD 511 S4) Appearing annually in the June issue, this compilation of review articles analyzes approximately 6,000 literature references each year concerning water pollution and treatment.

E. Bibliographies. There are many specialized bibliographies in water resources and water quality. A few are listed below; other will be found in the Literature Guides listed above.
1. General

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1984. Ecological Impacts of Wastewater on Wetlands: An Annotated Bibliography (Docs EP 1.21:Ec7)

Van der Leeden. 1991. Geraghty and Miller's Groundwater Bibliography (GB 1003.2 V35) Contains 6,000 selected references

2. Specialized Bibliographies to Publications of Government Agencies

California Department of Water Resources. Abstracts of Department Publications (Cal Doc Abstr W750 B9 #120)

Geifer. Water Publications of State Agencies (ref TD 345 G54)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA Publications Cumulative Bibliography and Quarterly Abstract Bulletin (Docs EP 1.21/7)

U.S. Geological Survey.

List of U.S. Geological Survey Geologic and Water Supply Reports and Maps for California (Abstr Docs I 19.41/7:C12)

Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey 1879- (Abstr Docs I 19.14/4)

Reports for California by the U.S. Geological Survey. Water Resources Division (Abstr Docs I 19.76:89-29)

F. Handbooks and Manuals. Handbooks commonly contain standardized information and practices or tabular data collected from the "primary" literature. Manuals usually contain procedures for experimental analysis in the field or laboratory. Engineers in their field and laboratory work tend to make extensive use of standard handbooks and manuals. For a list of over 3,400 handbooks, see Handbooks and Tables in Science and Technology (ref Q 199 H35 1994).

Adams. 1990. Water and Wastewater Examination Manual (TD 380 A33 1990)

American Public Health Association. 1995. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater (ref QD 142 A5). Older editions (1985, 1989, 1992) are in the stacks (QD 142 A5).

American Society for Testing and Materials. 1978. Manual on Water (TD 353 M35)

American Water Works Association. 1990. Water Quality and Treatment; a Handbook of Community Water Supplies (TD 430 W365 1990)

Calow. 1992. Rivers Handbook: Hydrological and Ecological Principles (GB 1203.2 R58)

Ciaccio. Water and Water Pollution Handbook 4 vols. (TD 380 W32)

Fresenius. Water Analysis; A Practical Guide to Physio-chemical, Chemical and Microbiological Water Examination and Quality Assurance (TD 380 W327 1988)

Handbook of Public Water Systems (TD 223 H27 1986)

Hydrologic Engineering Center (U.S.). Hydrologic Engineering Methods for Water Resources Development (12 vols.) (GB 661 H93)

Jackson. 1993. Applied Water and Spentwater Chemistry: A Laboratory Manual (TD 380 J23)

Maidment. 1993. Handbook of Hydrology (ref GB 662.5 H35)

Montgomery. 1990. Groundwater Chemicals Desk Reference (ref TD 426 M66)

Nielsen. 1991. Practical Handbook of Ground-Water Monitoring (TD 426 P73)

Plumb. 1981. Procedures for Handling and Chemical Analysis of Sediment and Water Samples (QD 79 S4 P58)

Practical Guide for Ground-Water Sampling (Docs EP 1.23/2:600/2-85-104)

Rump. 1992. Laboratory Manual for the Examination of Water, Waste Water and Soil (TD 367 R8613)

Salanki. 1994. Biological Monitoring of the Environment: A Manual of Methods (QH 541.15 M64 B565)

Scalf. 1981. Manual of Ground-Water Quality Sampling Procedures (GB 1003 S23)

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Engineering Manual (Docs D 103.6/3)

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Ground Water Manual (Docs I 27.19/2:G91)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Handbook for Sampling and Sample Preservation of Water and Wastewater (Docs EP 1.23/5:600/4-82-029)

Handbook: Groundwater. Vol. I. Groundwater and Contamination. Vol. II. Methodology 1990. (Docs EP 1.8:G91/2)

Manual of Individual and Non-Public Water Supply Systems (Docs EP 2.8:In2/3)

Methods for Chemical Analysis of Water and Wastes (Docs EP 1.23/5:600/4-79-020)

Methods for the Determination of Metals in Environmental Samples. 1991. (Docs EP 1.23/5:600/4-91/010 microfiche)

Methods for the Determination of Organic Substances in Drinking Water (Docs EP 1.23/5:600/4-88/039 microfiche)

Methods for Measuring the Acute Toxicity of Effluents to Freshwater and Marine Organisms (Docs EP 1.23/5:600/4-85-013)

Methods for Organic Chemical Analysis of Municipal and Industrial Wastewater. 1982. (Docs EF 1.23/5:600/4-82- 057)

Microbiological Methods for Monitoring the Environment: Water and Wastes. 1978. (EP 1.2 M58/9)

USEPA Manual of Methods for Virology (Docs EP 1.23/5:600 14-84-13)

U.S. Geological Survey.

National Handbook of Recommended Methods for Water-Data Acquisition (TD 223 N35)

Techniques of Water Resources Investigations (Docs I 19.15/5)

U.S. Soil Conservation Service. National Engineering Handbook (Docs A 57.6/2:En3)

Van Haversen. 1986. Water Resource Measurements: A Handbook for Hydrologists and Engineers (ref TC 177 V35)

Zipparro. 1993. Davis's Handbook of Applied Hydraulics (ref TC 145 D3 1993)

G. Statistical and Data Compilation

California Department of Water Resources.

California Rainfall Summary. Monthly Total Precipitation 1849-1980 (Cal Doc W 765 R34) Contains monthly rainfall records for 4,000 stations in California.

Hydrologic Data (Bulletin 130) (Cal Doc W750 B9 #130) Annual series published in 5 volumes which presents hydrologic data for California - monthly precipitation, surface water measurement, ground water levels, surface and groundwater quality. Covers the years 1963-1975, 1985 to date.

Maximum Daily Precipitation by Month (Cal Doc W 765 P73)

Rainfall Depth-Duration-Frequency for California (Cal Doc W 765 R36)

UNESCO. Discharge of Selected Rivers of the World (GB 1203 U54)

U.S. Geological Survey.

California Streamflow Characteristics (Docs I 19.76:1971-6/3) Summary of streamflow data for individual stations from the earliest year of record through 1968.

Hourly Precipitation Data: [state] (Docs C55.216/4)

Water Resources Data: [state] (Docs I 19.53/2:) Annual cumulation of discharge, level and water quality records for stream and wells. Arranged by drainage basin. Multiyear cumulations appear in the USGS Water Supply Paper series. Cumulated electronically in USGS Daily Values cd-rom which is available at Table B in the Library.

U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Climatological Data: [state] (Docs C 55.214/6) Published monthly and annually for each state. Contains detailed climatic records for individual recording stations. Cumulated electronically in NCDC Summary of the Day cd-rom which is available at Table B in the Library.

Van der Leeden. 1992. The Water Encyclopedia (ref TD 351 V36) Contains a variety of water resources data, facts and statistics.

Van der Leeden. 1975. Water Resources of the World: Selected Statistics (ref GB 661 V34) Contains water resources statistics for each country.

H. Atlases and Maps. See the library handouts in the Atlas and Map Collection for a general discussion of available cartographic materials.

California Department of Water Resources. 1979. California Water Atlas (Atlas G 1526 C3 C3)

Geraghty. 1973. Water Atlas of the United States (Atlas G 1201 C3 W3)

Pettyjohn. Ground-Water Quality Atlas of the United States (ref GB 1015 P48)

U.S. Environmental Science Services Administration. 1960. Climatic Atlas of the United States (Atlas G 1201 C8 U55)

U.S. National Weather Service. Precipitation Frequency Atlas of the Western United States (Docs C55.22 vol.2)

U.S. Soil Conservation Service. 1970. Atlas of River Basins of the United States (Atlas/folio G 1201 C3 U48)

I. Legal
1. General

Lexis/Nexis ENVIRN Library (Table C) The Environmental News and Information Library on Lexis/Nexis contains the full-text of environmental news as well as federal and state legislation, case law and regulations.

Mackenthun. 1992. Environmental Regulations Handbook (KF 3775 M33)
2. Federal

Code of Federal Regulations (Docs AE 2.106/3 Legal Alcove) Annual compilation of all federal administrative regulations.

Federal Register (Docs AE 2.106 Legal Alcove) Daily publication which contains proposed and finalized rules and regulations of federal agencies. Serves as an update to the annual Code of Federal Regulations. Also contains notices, presidential proclamations, and executive orders.

For an annual summary of federal regulatory programs, see Regulatory Programs of the U.S. Government (Docs PrEx 2.30)

3. California
California Code of Regulations (Cal Doc L360 Legal Alcove)

California Regulatory Notice Register (Cal Doc L375 Legal Alcove) Weekly publication containing notices of proposed regulatory actions by state agencies.

West's Annotated California Codes (KFC 30.5 W4 Legal Alcove)III. Library Catalogs and Subject Classifications

Library catalogs are generally used to locate "book" materials which may be either "primary" or "secondary" scientific publications. Examples of "primary" publications include conference proceedings, technical reports, theses and disserations. "Secondary" publications include textbooks, handbooks, and many other types of compacted or synthesized publications.

A. HSU Library. In this library two research tools are available to assist in identifying monographic materials by subject--the Library of Congress Classification System and the Library catalog.
1. Library of Congress Classification System. The general book collection in the HSU Library is organized on the shelves by subject using this classification system employed by most academic libraries in the United States. (In addition most special collections - "Periodicals," "Reference," "Map and Atlas," and "Indexes and Abstracts" - all follow this same subject arrangement.) Listed below are major classification areas of where water resources and water quality literature is likely to be found.
GB Physical Geography
651-989 Hydrology
990-992 Watersheds
1001-1200 Groundwater and Hydrogeology
1201-1598 Rivers
1601-1798 Lakes
2601-2798 Snow
2801-2998 Hydrometeorology
HD Economics of Agriculture and Industry
1691-1741 Water Rights and Irrigation
QA Mathematics
273-295 Probability and Statistics
QC Physics
851-999 Meteorology and Climatology
QD Chemistry
142 Water Analysis
QE Geology
500-899 Structural Geology and Stratigraphy
QH Biology
90-100 Aquatic Biology
TA Civil Engineering
174 Engineering Design
329-348 Engineering Mathematics and Analysis
TC Hydraulic Engineering
401-526 River, Lake and Water Supply Engineering
530-558 River Protective Works and Dams
TD Environmental Engineering
201-418 Water Supply
420-427 Water Pollution
430-480 Water Treatment and Purification
481-500 Water Distribution Systems
511-780 Sewage Collection and Disposal Systems
785-812 Solid Wastes
895-899 Industrial Sanitation
920-929 Rural Sanitation

2. Library Catalog. While the Library catalog can be searched by author, title, or subject, a subject search generally requires the most preparation. Listed below are some general suggestions for conducting a subject search.
a) Use Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). This four-volume set (located near catalog terminals) lists over 170,000 subjects which are used for indexing materials. You should start a subject search here. LCSH will do the following:
1) list subject, taxonomic and geographical headings along with any associated subheadings
2) give a hierarchy of related subjects: RT=related terms; NT=narrower terms; BT=broader terms
3) give the Library of Congress Classification for many subjects
4) provide "see" references from subjects not used to the valid subject (UF=used for)
b) Follow the "Rule of Specificity." Choose subjects which come closest to what you are searching. A book will only be listed under the two or three specific subjects which represent its content.
B. Other Library Catalogs. There are a number of electronic tools which can be used to identify publications available in other libraries.

Hytelnet - directory of 1,200 libraries available by telnet over the Internet; available at Table B in the Library or gopher to liberty.uc.wlu.edu

Melvyl - an electronic catalog of 3.5 million publications in University of California libraries; available at Tables A&D in the Library or by telnetting to melvyl.ucop.edu

U.S. EPA Online Library System - an electronic catalog of materials available at EPA libraries including a comprehensive listing of EPA publications. Several specialized databases on hazardous materials and clean lakes are available. Available by telnetting to epaibm.rtpnc.epa.gov or through the EPA gopher (URL: gopher://gopher.epa.gov)

WorldCat - an electronic union catalog of 30 million publications held in 17,000 libraries; available at Tables A&D in the Library. Also available remotely.

IV. Indexes

These research tools are used to provide subject, taxonomic, geographic, and author access to "primary" research literature--journals, monographic series, technical reports, conference papers, and government documents. For a description of water resources and water quality indexes see the companion library handout entitled Environmental Engineering Indexes.

V. Internet-Based Information Systems

A. Bulletin Board Systems. There are thousands of BBS which are repositories for messages and files, often on a specific topic. Commonly one can read and post messages and download files of available data and information. They are typically maintained by a single person or an organization and can be reached by modem and occasionally by telnet. Listed below are some free BBS in water resources and water quality. Many can be reached by telnetting to fedworld.gov.

Cal/EPA BBS (Access: modem 1-916-322-5041)

Drinking Water Information Exchange BBS (Access: modem 1-800-932-7459) Operated by the National Drinking Water Clearinghouse to serve the information and assistance needs of drinking water system personnel in small towns.

NonPoint Source BBS (Access: modem 1-301-589-0205; Internet URL: telnet://fedworld.gov) Operated by the NonPoint Source Information Exchange

Wastewater Treatment Information Exchange BBS (Access: modem 1-800-544-1936; Internet URL: telnet://fedworld.gov) Operated by the National Small Flows Clearinghouse to serve the information and assistance needs of wastewater personnel in small communities. The Clearinghouse maintains a database of over 3,000 citations on small-scale wastewater treatment systems.

B. Gophers

Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network Gopher (CIESIN) (URL: http://www.ciesin.org)

EPA Gopher (URL: gopher://gopher.epa.gov)

University Water Information Network Gopher (URL: gopher://gopher.c-wr.siu.edu) Contains an extensive collection of water information including a searchable version of Water Resources Abstracts.

C. World Wide Web Resources

Environmental Resources Engineering Resources on the Web (URL: http://library.humboldt.edu/~chadwick/ereweb.htm) This locally maintained list has many WWW resources in water resources and water quality.

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