Water Quality Dashboard Help

Overview

The dashboard displays the most recent data for five individual parameters:

• Chlorophyll a
• Total Nitrogen
• Total Phosphorus
• Escherichia Coli
• Secchi Depth

Data values are presented within gauges, with the value displayed at the center of the gauge and the needle indicating that value on the gauge range. Each gauge is color-coded based on available water quality criteria to be found in the Florida Administrative Code for that parameter:

The bottom of the gauge displays the name of the waterbody being displayed, the sampling date, and the agency responsible for taking the measurement. (Secchi Depth, a measure of water clarity, does not have a regulatory threshold; however, an informal threshold of 0.5m is used.)

Selecting a Waterbody

Selecting a waterbody will change the gauges to show the latest data for that river or lake. You can select a waterbody in one of two ways:

1. “Sites” Side Panel

   The side panel on the left of the screen has a list of all the waterbodies for which data are being presented.

   To view a particular waterbody, simply click/tap on its name in the list. Doing so will “zoom” the map to show a single waterbody and change the gauges to display the correct information for that waterbody.

   

   To unselect the waterbody, simply click/tap on its name again and the map will return to the full extent.

2. Direct Selection from the Map

   Waterbodies can also be selected by interacting directly with the map.

   To change the map “extent” (the area that is displayed):

   • To pan the map, click/tap and drag.
   • To zoom in/out: 1) Click/tap on the +/- symbols (lower-right corner of the map); 2) use your mouse wheel; or 3) pinch the screen (on a mobile device).
   • To return the map to its full extent, click the home icon in the upper-right corner.
     

     

   Click/tap on a waterbody within the map and the gauges will show the water quality measurements for it.

   
   

   

Filtering Waterbodies

You can choose which waterbodies are visible on the map and in the “Sites” side panel, by filtering them based on a set of predetermined criteria. To open the “Filters” side panel click/tap the small arrow on the left side of the Sites side panel.

The Filters side panel contains three different filter sets you can toggle on and off:

• Waterbody Type – Show/don't show lakes or rivers
• Basins (also known as watersheds) – Show only waterbodies located within specific basin(s).
• Exceeding Thresholds – Show only waterbodies for which the most recent value is higher than the displayed threshold for a particular water quality parameter.