Method by which the water level was obtained.

Measurements

Must be a valid EIM Method Code

• GWLMT - (Groundwater level by electric tape measurement)

Need a method added to EIM? Contact us online or ask your data coordinator.

ID for the point on the well from which water levels are measured. Often top of well casing (TOC).

well water levels.

Not needed for groundwater chemistry data.

Valid Values:

TOC1 - when measured from top of casing

TOC2 -when measured from a secondary point at the top of casing (like when the casing gets cut off)

MP1 - when measured from access port or similar

MP2 - when measured from a secondary access port or similar

Enter only for well water levels.

Use value you submitted in the Location template or that is stored in EIM.

If the top of casing gets cut off or you have more than one measuring point, contact your EIM Data Coordinator. They will enter a new Measuring Point ID into EIM for you.

Seconds measure of the field location's latitude.

LAT/LONG in Deg-Min-Sec

00.00 to 59.99

Name of the Organization that submitted the data to EIM. Often an environmental consultant or government agency. This information is captured automatically when a submitter from outside Ecology uploads their data to EIM. Ecology staff must choose a Submitting Organization when they are loading data themselves.

for external submitters. Ecology staff must choose

GeoEngineers - Tacoma WA

Palouse Conservation District - Pullman WA

WA Department of Ecology

Reported result value for a particular parameter.

Field Collection Type is Measurement

Must be a number

• No commas

Observations – don’t fill this out.

Check the accuracy of your instrument and report the appropriate significant digits. For more info, download help for Field Measurements.

If viewing your data in Excel, be cautious of auto-reformatting. Digits may be lost unless these cells are formatted as Text. For more information about preserving the formatting in this field, download help for Preserving Values Corrupted by Excel.

Additional comments about the water level measurement.

Free text

For water levels qualified WLZ (Well water level affected by other conditions), explain details here.

Describes the environmental medium which was measured or from which a sample was taken.

test and reference samples

• Solid/Sediment

Tip: the Sample Matrix for porewater is solid/sediment.

Primary ID to identify a sample. May be selected by the sampler or assigned by the lab.

Field Collection Type is Sample

Free text.

Must match the corresponding Sample ID used in reports or other documents.

• 1304017-04
• C1
• MW1

The laboratory-assigned sample ID is often entered in this field, but not always. For example, upland cleanup sites commonly use IDs like MW1 to identify the location from which the sample was collected. Check with your data coordinator if you have questions about Sample IDs.

Split samples sent to different labs must be assigned the same Sample ID before entry into EIM. Don’t enter the data with mismatching lab-assigned sample IDs. This includes bioassay and chemistry data from the same sample.

For information on Sample IDs and field replicates, download help for Entering Field Replicates.

Units of measure associated with a Result Value.

Field Collection Type is Measurement

Must be a valid EIM Unit.

• deg C

Observations – don't fill this out

Need a unit added to EIM? Contact us online or ask your Data Coordinator.

Degrees measure of the field location's longitude.

LAT/LONG in Deg-Min-Sec

116 to 125

Distance east or west of Central Meridian (Greenwich England).

Department of Ecology monitoring programs where data is collected for a specific monitoring objective - usually long-term and regularly-scheduled, using a consistent protocol. An EIM Study can belong to only one monitoring program. Monitoring programs are only for Ecology-led studies. If you are an Ecology employee and you need to add your study to an Ecology monitoring program, please contact your data coordinator to have it added.

Study is part of an Ecology Monitoring Program

Describes the environmental resource which was measured or from which a sample was taken. More specific than Sample Matrix.

test and reference samples

• Salt/Marine Sediment

Standard annotations for documenting issues with Result Values, such as estimates or a correction being performed.

Also used for:

Well Water Level Measurements.

Observations, to explain why a measurement wasn't possible.

applicable

Must be a valid EIM Result Data Qualifier. The qualifier must be appropriate to the type of data (measurement, well water level, observation).

• Measurement – IA (Instrument result adjusted; reported result meets study objectives
• Measurement - EST (Measurement value reported is estimated)
• Observation: FE (Equipment failure)

Download help for Adjusted Time-series Data.

If you use EST, you must add a comment to the Comment field (column U) explaining why your result is an estimate.

Minutes measure of the field location's longitude.

LAT/LONG in Deg-Min-Sec

00 to 59

Indicates that the Study's data should be sent to EPA's WQX (Water Quality eXchange) for loading into EPA's STORET data system. Some data types like ambient monitoring are required to be sent to EPA via various grant requirements or other agreements.

Y (denoted by checking the box)

Code assigned to a procedure or method used to collect a sample or measurement.

Must be a valid EIM Method Code.

• CORE-DRV (Corer, driven)

Download help for learning About EIM Methods.

Need a method added to EIM? Contact us online or ask your data coordinator.

Secondary ID to identify a field replicate sample.

Field replicates are separate samples identically collected as close as possible to the same point in space and time as the original sample. They are stored in separate containers, each of which is identically processed and analyzed. Field replicates provide insight into field and laboratory procedure variability (and in some cases contaminant distribution).

sample is a replicate and shares a Sample ID with one or more samples

Free text / preferred format.

• 1, 2, 3
• FR1, FR2, FR3

Replicate samples often have separate Sample IDs; however, they may have the same Sample ID in some instances. The Sample Field Replicate ID is necessary to differentiate them in these cases.

Download help for Entering Field Replicates.

Procedure, method or instrument technology used to obtain a result.

Field Collection Type is Measurement

Must be valid EIM Method Code.

TEMPTHERMISTOR - Temperature by thermistor

DO-OPTICAL - Dissolved Oxygen (DO) by Optical (Luminescent) Sensor (LDO)

Download help for About EIM Methods.

Need a method added to EIM? Contact us online or ask your data coordinator.

Seconds measure of the field location's longitude.

LAT/LONG in Deg-Min-Sec

00.00 to 59.99

The Ecology program/division to which data is being submitted.

Water Quality - Grant recipient data

Indicates that the sample is a field replicate.

Field replicates are separate samples identically collected as close as possible to the same point in space and time as the original sample. They are stored in separate containers, each of which is identically processed and analyzed. Field replicates provide insight into field and laboratory procedure variability (and in some cases contaminant distribution).

sample or measurement is a field replicate

Download help for Entering Field Replicates.

Code assigned to procedure or method used to prepare a sample.

Must be a valid EIM Method Code.

• SW3050B (Acid Digestion of Sediments, Sludges, and Soils, Revision 2)

Download help for learning About EIM Methods.

Need a method added to EIM? Contact us online or ask your data coordinator.

Secondary ID to identify a set of field split samples. Mostly used for sediment data.

For split samples with the same Sample ID or with different Sample IDs.

sample is a field split and shares a Sample ID with one or more sub-samples

Free text / preferred format.

First split is 1, second is 2, etc., no matter what the Sample ID is.

• 1, 2, 3
• SS1, SS2, SS3

To create a split sample, a single field sample (often created by compositing several samples from the same field location) is split in the field into two or more sub-samples. This is done so different types of analyses can be performed (e.g., toxicity, chemistry) or the same analyses can be performed by different laboratories. Each split or sub-sample is analyzed individually.

Decimal degrees latitude coordinate for the field location.

LAT/LONG in Decimal Deg

45.000000 to 49.999999

For Measurements, this field is for comments about the Result Value.

For Observations, this field is used to explain why a measurement couldn't be taken.

Field Collection Type is Observation

Free text

• Measurement - Adjusted Result Value as part of a linear drift identified after deployment.
• Observation - The pH probe on our Multimeter stopped recording over this period of time for an unknown reason.

If you use EST, you must add a comment explaining why your result is an estimate.

Additional data input field for collection, preparation, or preservation method.

Must be a valid EIM Method Code.

Download help for learning About EIM Methods.

Need a method added to EIM? Contact us online or ask your data coordinator.

Indicates the estimated accuracy of a well water level measurement.

well water level measurements

The category of the Bioassay sample. Bioassay test organisms are added to each category of sample.

Initial - Initial Values - Measurements taken prior to the start of a test. The Bioassay Category = Initial must be used together with Bioassay Endpoint = INIT. The two most common initial measurements for sediment bioassays are initial dry weight or/and ash free dry weight for BIOM and GROW endpoint or stocking density of the test organisms for ABMO endpoint.

Negative - Negative Control Sample - A clean (non-contaminated) sample collected from a known, pristine location outside the study area, with a matrix similar to the native matrix of the test organism. Provides (controls for) normal/natural effects data (e.g. mortality, growth) for the bioassay organism tested.

Only certain fields are required for negative controls. Fill out only the YELLOW color-coded fields in your template - and conditional fields if pertinent.

Positive - Positive Control Sample - Laboratory sample containing a known series of concentrations (100%, 50%, 25%...) of a contaminant such as Cadmium Chloride (CdCl2). Provides information on how sensitive a bioassay organism is to a known contaminant relative to previous populations of that test species. Generally used to reflect the fitness of the bioassay organism test population.

Only certain fields are required for positive controls. Fill out only the YELLOW color-coded fields in your template - -and conditional fields if pertinent.

Reference - Reference Sample - A clean (non-contaminated) field sample collected from a location with a matrix similar to the Test Sample. Provides non-contaminant-related effects data (e.g. mortality, growth) due to intrinsic matrix conditions which are not native to the selected bioassay organism. In sediments this would include grain size, ammonia, sulfides, TOC (= 5%), bacterial and fungal loading, and ionic clay-binding, etc.

Fill out the YELLOW and ORANGE color-coded fields in your template.

Test - Test Sample - Field sample from the environment in question. Bioassay organisms are exposed to various dilutions of this sample to measure observable adverse impacts.

Fill out the YELLOW and ORANGE color-coded fields in your template.

Tip: If Bioassay Category is “Reference” or “Test,” assign “Reference” or “Test,” respectively, to corresponding chemistry data in the Result Template, Sample Use column.

Note: There is no “Background” category for Bioassay. Use “Test” when corresponding chemistry data in the Result Template, Sample Use column is “B” (background).

Decimal degrees longitude coordinate for the field location.

LAT/LONG in Decimal Deg

116.000000 to 125.999999

or

-116.000000 to -125.999999

Indicates that the sample is a composite created by combining two or more discrete samples collected spatially and/or temporally.

Field Collection Type is Sample

If Location “Horizontal Coordinates Represent” value is 25 (centroid of monitoring area), then composite flag should be Y.

Download help for Entering Composite Samples.

ID for the point on the well from which water levels are measured. Often top of well casing (TOC).

well water levels

Valid Values:

TOC1 - when measured from top of casing

TOC2 -when measured from a secondary point at the top of casing (like when the casing gets cut off)

MP1 - when measured from access port or similar

MP2 - when measured from a secondary access port or similar

Use value you submitted in the Location template (Well Water Level Measuring Point or TOC ID) or that is stored in EIM.

If the top of casing gets cut off or you have more than one measuring point, contact your EIM Data Coordinator. They will enter a new Measuring Point ID into EIM for you.

The type of Bioassay test. Normally defined by the taxonomic name of the Bioassay organism concatenated with the test duration.

See a chart with typical bioassay type, test names, units, enpoints, and bases combinations in the Bioassay Template Help.

Qualifier for stormwater sampling events conducted under Washington State Municipal Stormwater Permits. Indicates if a storm event met the qualifying criteria or not and why.

EIM no longer takes this info

Historical Valid Values:

Q - Meets criteria for qualifying storm event as defined in the Municipal Stormwater Permit.
NQ1 - Non-qualifying antecedent. There was not a long enough dry period before sampling (antecedent dry period).
NQ2 - Non-qualifying rainfall. There was not enough total rain during the sampling period.
NQ3 - Non-qualifying inter-event. The inter-event was either too long or too short.
NQ4 - Non-qualifying sample aliquots. Minimum number of aliquots were not obtained.
NQ5 - Non-qualifying hydrograph. Minimum percentage of hydrograph not collected.
NQC - Non-qualifying criteria combination (NQ1-NQ5, see comments for details).

Download help for "Stormwater and Combined Sewer Data."

State Plane Coordinate System E-W coordinate (X-axis) of the field location. In feet.

SPCS

Valid Values:

North Zone: 602913.0 to 2673266.0

South Zone: 575078.0 to 2618128.0

The start date of the Bioasay test.

MM/DD/YYY

This date must match for all test, reference, and control sample on the same run.

• 6/23/2024

Describes the environmental medium which was measured or from which a sample was taken.

The matrix for porewater is Solid/Sediment because it’s a part of sediment.

State Plane Coordinate System N-S coordinate (Y-axis) of the field location. In feet.

SPCS

Valid Values:

North Zone: -33488.0 to 832967.0

South Zone: 15935.0 to 901121.0

The start time of the Bioassay test.

OR REQUIRED FOR short runs (3 days or fewer).

HH:MM:SS or HH:MM

• Enter 24-hour time
• Enter local time

• 19:20 (interpreted as 7:20 PM)
• 07:00 (interpreted as 7:00 AM)
• 00:07:00 (interpreted as 12:07 AM)
• 00:00:00 (interpreted as 12 AM midnight)

Leave blank for unknown time - don’t enter zero.

Describes the environmental resource which was measured or from which a sample was taken. More specific than Sample Matrix.

• Fresh/Surface Water

State Plane Coordinate System zone (north or south) of the field location.

SPCS

Note: Pierce County is South

Indicates that the sample was collected for a specific purpose, namely background, reference, or test. Commonly used for sediment data.

sediment data when bioassay analyses were done on the same sample

I - Initial Sample (for bioaccumulation T0 (time zero) tissue concentration data only)

Tip: Use “B” to indicate that a sample was collected as a background sample for the Study even if it's not included in the final background calculation (due to suspected contaminant sources or other inappropriate data).

The end date of the Bioasay test.

MM/DD/YYY

• 6/26/2024

Universal Transverse Mercator easting coordinate (X-axis) of the field location. In meters.

UTM

Valid Values:

Zone 10: 350000.0 to 731300.0

Zone 11: 271250.0 to 518176.0

Method used to collect the sample or measurement.

some samples. Data types like stormwater, macroinvertebrate, groundwater, soil and if available for others.

Must be a valid EIM Method Code.

• PUMP-PERISTALTIC
• DIRECTPUSH

Download help for learning About EIM Methods.

Need a method added to EIM? Contact us online or ask your data coordinator.

Universal Transverse Mercator northing coordinate (Y-axis) of the field location. In meters.

UTM

Valid Values:

Zone 10: 5042900.0 to 5454800.0

Zone 11: 5042930.0 to 5454795.0

The end time of the Bioassay test.

OR REQUIRED FOR short runs (3 days or fewer).

HH:MM:SS or HH:MM

• Enter 24-hour time
• Enter local time

• 19:20 (interpreted as 7:20 PM)
• 07:00 (interpreted as 7:00 AM)
• 00:07:00 (interpreted as 12:07 AM)
• 00:00:00 (interpreted as 12 AM midnight)

Leave blank for unknown time - don’t enter zero.

Method used to prepare the sample.

some data types like TCLP/SPLP, filtered water samples, and others

Must be valid EIM Method Code.

• SW3010A
• FILTER.45um
• SW1311

Download help for learning About EIM Methods.

Download help for Fraction Analyzed for information about filters.

Need a method added to EIM? Contact us online or ask your data coordinator.

The number of the Bioassay batch.

Formerly called the Analysis Group in SEDQUAL.

• 1, 2, etc.

Batch numbers are typically in a sequential series (1, 2, etc.) but don’t have to be. Batch number is an ID, not a count. They might be ID numbers from a lab report.

It is very important to group controls, references, and samples into the correct batches. data files represent tests, references, and controls tested in the same conditions. Typically, bioassay data will consist of more than one batch, indicating that each group of bioassays/samples was tested in a different area or at a different time. data files are usually identifiable as each begins with a control and reference sample.

Universal Transverse Mercator zone (10 or 11) of the field location.

UTM

Additional field for collection, preparation, or preservation method.

Must be valid EIM Method Code.

Download help for learning About EIM Methods.

Download help for Fraction Analyzed for information about filters.

Need a method added to EIM? Contact us online or ask your data coordinator.