A modernized Water Quality Portal

The Water Quality Portal (WQP) will soon be modernized to better serve users. This vital application will be supported for years to come.

Get ready for improvements to one of our most popular web applications! The EPA and USGS are partnering to modernize the Water Quality Portal (WQP) and advance a shared vision to deliver standardized, high-quality water data to the public.

Starting in Summer 2026 and continuing through September 2028, we are actively investing in and implementing modernization of the WQP. Below, we provide an overview of the WQP, the rationale for modernization, expectations during the transition period, and opportunities for stakeholder engagement.

About the Water Quality Portal

• The WQP is the national hub for critical water quality data that support Clean Water Act assessments, permitting, standards, compliance, restoration, research, and watershed protection.
• It provides unified access to more than 440 million water quality results from over 2 million locations and 1,700+ providers, including states, Tribes, local governments, federal partners (e.g., EPA, USGS, National Park Service, USACE, Bureau of Reclamation, USDA and NOAA), watershed groups, and additional organizations.
• WQP follows Internet of Water and Open Government Data principles . It offers a single, metadata-driven framework that enables consistent, documented, and discoverable data for secondary analysis. It covers site conditions and habitat metrics, along with physical, chemical, and biological analyses of environmental samples (e.g., water, air, sediment, and fish tissue).

Why the WQP is being modernized

• The WQP is approximately 15 years old and has exceeded its initial design capacity. It requires modernization to serve the user community more effectively. Our objective is to improve performance, ensure sustained reliability, and accommodate anticipated future expansion.
• The amount of data housed in the WQP and the demand for WQP data has grown year over year. The portal now receives hundreds of thousands of requests for data each day, leading to billions of rows of data delivered each month. To continue to grow and make these data available, our systems need a modernized structure.
• Modernization will protect millions of dollars in downstream investments that rely on WQP, and a modernized infrastructure will reduce operational and maintenance costs.

What to expect

• On August 31, 2026, the existing system will move to a new cloud environment and database, while also updating how other software connects to it. You can keep using WQP legacy/production and WQP beta during the transition. Users may experience some down time during this transition. After this date, the system should be restored. If anything seems off, please let us know wqx@epa.gov .
• From October 2026 to September 2028, we will complete the WQX 3.0 updates, modernize the system to make it easier to use and faster, and introduce helpful new features. We’ll roll out changes gradually and keep you informed to minimize disruption.

How you can engage

• Spread the word to your colleagues! Let your colleagues know that a new WQP is coming. Coordinate across programs to leverage WQP as a nationwide water quality enterprise system and avoid redundant investments.
• Major data holders across the nation—who are not yet submitting to the WQP through the Water Quality Exchange (WQX)—are encouraged to begin or expand their data submissions.
• We welcome your input to help ensure the modernized portal meets your program needs. Please share feedback and use cases for the Water Quality Portal by emailing wqx@epa.gov .

Thank you for your continued support and collaboration as we modernize this critical national data asset.