Capabilities
National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) offers environmental analytical services, including inorganic, organic, and radiochemical constituents, and provides high-quality, reproducible data.
The NWQL specializes in trace- and ultratrace-level analyses of water, sediment, and tissue, and the taxonomic identification and quantitation of benthic invertebrates. We also provide specialized services to its customers, including project planning, method development, customized projects, and data management.
Customer Service
We maintain the NWQL LabHelp (labhelp@usgs.gov) mailbox monitored by the Quality Assurance Section (QAS) and the Login Unit (LU). NWQL customers use the LabHelp mailbox to submit NWQL-related email questions to laboratory staff.
Email requests consist of ASR header update requests (station ID, date, time, medium code, sample type, user code), analysis/method questions, analytical status requests, customer rerun result release requests, inorganic schedule creation or modification of existing schedule requests, adding on or cancelling analytical requests, field supply QA inquiries, non-USGS requests (i.e., National Park Service, Fish & Wildlife Service), and general NWQL questions. Questions that cannot be fielded by QAS or LU staff are forwarded to appropriate NWQL personnel and tracked for completed responses. Laboratory personnel monitoring the LabHelp mailbox strive to respond to email inquiries within two working days or less.
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Areas of Expertise
National Water Quality Laboratory has several areas of expertise.
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Full Service Analytical Support
The Analytical Services (AS) section provides sample analysis carried out by chemists, physical scientists, aquatic biologists, and technicians.
