How to Use the Surface Water Quality Viewer

Surface Water Quality Viewer

Viewer  Glossary of Terms  Disclaimer

What is the viewer for?

The viewer allows you to find information on the quality of any body of surface water being monitored by the TCEQ. You can select a water body geographically (from an interactive map) or by its name or identification number (from a pop-up list).

How do I get started?

The large map that you see when the viewer opens shows major surface water bodies such as rivers, streams, creeks, lakes, reservoirs, and coastal estuaries and bays in Texas. Each surface water body has one or more unique segment-identification numbers associated with it. To view the data you must first select a water-body segment using a tool from the viewer tool menu at the left side of the large map. This version of the viewer allows you to select only one segment at a time.

To select a water body using the map:

Step 1—Choose an area of the state.

To zoom in, use the zoom tool . Click on the icon with the left mouse button and then move to the large map. Holding the left mouse button down, draw a rectangle around the area you’re interested in.

As you zoom in, you will notice more map detail displayed. At a scale of about 10 miles, segment numbers, roads, and cities will appear.

Step 2—Select a water body.

Now that you are in the area of the state that you want, you will need to select a specific segment. Once it is selected, general information such as the name, type of feature, and segment ID will be displayed automatically above the large map.

To select a segment use the select tool  just as you did the zoom-in tool. Click on the icon with the left mouse button and then move to the large map. Holding the left mouse button down, draw a rectangle around any portion of the surface water body you’re interested in. If you select an area containing two segments, you will receive an error message. You may have to zoom in further to be able to select just one segment.

When a segment has been selected and the information associated with it has been displayed, the segment will be highlighted in yellow on the map.

Step 3—Print it.

You can print the information that is displayed in the viewer at any time by clicking in the frame at the top of the map that contains the table of information. Then select the File/Print Frame menu to print the table.

To print the map, select the print icon  on the Tool Bar.

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Important: Don’t get ahead of the viewer’s ability to draw a map or retrieve data.  While the viewer is drawing or retrieving data, resist the temptation to click the mouse. If you see



or



on the screen, wait until the animated icon disappears before using the mouse-click function. If you forget and the browser gets confused, exit the browser and restart the viewer.