Waterboards preview SEDIN 2.0 chemistry launch, set Aug. 17 cutover and tighten station rules

State Water Boards staff on the SEDIN user group call on an upcoming chemistry-module release for SEDIN 2.0, saying the new system will introduce stricter station vocabulary rules, automated quality-control checks and an expected cutover in mid-August.

"The planned date is August 17th," said Tessa Fojet, the SEDIN database manager for the Waterboards. Staff said they will publish lookup lists, guidance and trainings ahead of the changeover.

Why it matters: SEDIN 2.0 is a replacement for the current data-checker and query workflow for chemistry data. The new platform, a customized EQuIS implementation by EarthSoft, will change some vocabularies and add automated checks that can flag missing quality-control samples, holding-time issues and recalculated precision statistics. Those flags do not, by default, block submission, but they will be visible to users and may affect how data are used in assessments.

Key features and timing Tessa Fojet said the first public module will be for chemistry and that field, habitat and continuous-monitoring modules will follow in coming years. "The waterboards is working with a out outside software vendor EarthSoft to customize their existing platform which is called EQuIS," she said. Staff plan to go live in mid-August and will offer live trainings, recordings and guidance documents.

Station vocabulary and agency field changes Kenan Smith, SEDIN 2.0 lead staff, described specific changes for station vocabulary. New stations will be required to record coordinates to four to six decimal places (six decimals maximum) and to include trailing zeros. Datum must be recorded as NAD83 or WGS84. Coordinate-source options will be limited to "GPS" (handheld or mobile device) or "digital map" (desktop mapping tools or GIS); legacy options such as "map," "GIS," "not recorded" and null values will be disallowed.

Smith said the station agency field should indicate the agency responsible for managing the station — not a contractor — so Waterboards staff know who to contact to confirm changes. Existing station vocabulary in the legacy system will be cleaned to conform to the new rules; regional data centers may contact users to correct entries and staff expect to give users until late August to fix flagged items before end-dating unresolved vocabulary (historical records remain unchanged).

Automated QC checks and submission behavior Fojet and other staff emphasized new QC checks that recalculate percent recoveries and relative percent differences (RPDs) from submitted parent and QC records. The system will flag incomplete batches (for example, a missing second matrix spike for EPA Method 200.7) and holding-time violations. "You can definitely — the checker will give you these as a list of either warnings or errors," Fojet said, noting submitters can correct data before final submission. In some cases, variance between submitted and recalculated RPD will produce an error that requires resolution.

Labs and programs raised practical questions, including how blind field blanks affect QC reporting and whether programs may need to unblind samples. Staff said program needs will vary and Waterboards will publish guidance explaining how flags influence internal use of data, particularly for the Integrated Report.

Vocabulary and lookup-list differences Staff said most vocabularies will remain consistent, but some controlled terms will change only in SEDIN 2.0. As an example, a matrix label now called "sample water" in the legacy system will be shown as "surface W" in SEDIN 2.0. The new lookup lists and vocabulary changes will be posted before launch to allow users to confirm and update project or station metadata.

Cutover logistics and next steps Staff signaled a planned cutover to require submissions in SEDIN 2.0 and gave stakeholders advance notice that the change may disrupt existing workflows. "We're trying to make kind of a hard cut over where we're going to set a date and say anything submitted after this date has to be submitted to SEDIN 2.0," Fojet said, while acknowledging managers will consider operational constraints. The Integrated Report 2030 data solicitation deadline remains August 10 for data to be assessed in the 2030 Integrated Report and submitters were urged to plan ahead because vocabulary review can take at least two weeks.

What to expect next: Staff will post updated lookup lists, provide recordings and quick guides, and hold live trainings ahead of the August go-live. The user group will reconvene on Sept. 10 to review early experiences and outstanding issues.

Attribution: Quotes and specific procedural descriptions in this article come from remarks by Tessa Fojet and Kenan Smith during the SEDIN user group meeting. If a comment in the transcript could not be tied to a named participant, the article frames it as staff or participants generally.