A Tool for Comparative Watershed Assessment

Federal, state, local, and private water quality programs are increasingly using comparative watershed assessment tools to inform their decisions about how to prioritize watersheds for restoration and protection activities in the context of their overall water quality goals.

The Watershed Index Online (WSIO) is a free, publically available data library of watershed indicators and a decision-support tool, developed by EPA, to assist resource managers with evaluating, comparing, and prioritizing watersheds to support the user’s objectives. Watershed indicator data, for the contiguous United States is available for download into the WSIO tool, a MS Excel workbook.

The WSIO Tool is an enhanced version of the RPS Tool developed for EPA’s Recovery Potential Screening project. The WSIO Tool and state specific RPS tools (Graphic map, no ArcGIS Online) are available for download on this site.

The user defines a geographic area (River Basin, State) and selects indicators supporting the objective(s) of their comparison. The WSIO Tool downloads the user-selected data directly into the Excel workbook. Users can then calculate ecological, stressor, and social indicator scores, as well as a combined Watershed Index score to use for comparison and analysis. The Tool creates a ranked list of the results and visual comparison tools in the form of bubble plots and maps. Multiple analyses can be performed and saved.

• Overview WSIO
• About WSIO
• WSIO FAQ General
• WSIO User Manual
• Indicator Metadata
• Download WSIO Tool (Excel Workbook)
• Download RPS State Tools (Excel Workbook)
• Recovery Potential Screening Website
• Healthy Watersheds Website
• EnviroAtlas Website