Anticipating and monitoring water risks for agriculture

Annex B. Databases facilitating water quality monitoring

While a fairly low number of complex tools (as showcased in Annex A) have so far been developed and deployed for water quality compared to other risks (such as water shortage and excess), several databases are available to track water quality. This annex provides examples of databases available that can facilitate monitoring water quality related risks.

Table A B.1. Global Freshwater Quality Database (GEMStat)

Developed by	UNEP GEMS/Water Programme.
Type(s) of physical water risk covered	Water quality - Chemical, physical, biological.
Dimensions of risk included	Hazard: 600+ parameters covered (inorganic, organic, nutrients).
Purpose	Global water quality monitoring. To provide a global repository of freshwater quality data for assessment, research, and international reporting.
Intended user	Researchers, policymakers.
Format	Online database.
Data source	National monitoring programmes and country submissions to the UNEP GEMS/Water network.
Methodology/technology	Data aggregation and classification (CUAHSI Hydrosphere Ontology)
Temporal scale	1906–
Update frequency	When countries submit new data.
Spatial resolution	Station level.
Geographical coverage	Global. Over 90 countries (strongest coverage in Latin America, Europe)
Limitations and caveats	Dependent on country submissions. Spatial imbalance in monitoring intensity.
Additional notes	Contains over 29 million entries from 21 000 stations. covers rivers, groundwater, and lakes, with rivers most represented.

Source: (GEMSTAT, n.d.[170]).

Table A B.2. GLORICH (GLObal RIver CHemistry Database)

Developed by	University of Hamburg, Institute for Geology
Type(s) of physical water risk covered	Water quality - Hydrochemical parameters.
Dimensions of risk included	Hazard: Major ions, nutrients, carbon, alkalinity, pH, DO, temperature.
Purpose	To provide a harmonised dataset of global river chemistry for biogeochemical, hydrological and Earth-system research.
Intended user	Researchers.
Format	Database
Data source	Global river chemistry datasets compiled historically from diverse monitoring programmes.
Methodology/technology	Standardisation and harmonisation of hydrochemical data; catchment delineation using global GIS datasets.
Temporal scale	Historic (one-time dataset)
Update frequency	None (not updated)
Spatial resolution	Catchment level
Geographical coverage	Global river systems.
Limitations and caveats	No updates. Static dataset.
Additional notes	Contains 1.27 million samples from 17 000 locations.

Source: (Universität Hamburg, 2019[171]).

Table A B.3. Waterbase – Water Quality ICM

Developed by	European Environment Agency (EEA)
Type(s) of physical water risk covered	Water quality and quantity
Dimensions of risk included	Hazard
Purpose	Monitor European water bodies status (Rivers, lakes, groundwater, coastal, transitional, coastal and marine waters)
Intended user	EU Member states, environmental agencies, policymakers.
Format	Online database
Data source	National monitoring programmes submitted through EEA reporting mechanisms.
Methodology/technology	Harmonisation under EU water directives; standardised indicators and QA/QC.
Temporal scale	1900‑2024
Update frequency	Yearly.
Spatial resolution	Station level.
Geographical coverage	Europe (EU + co‑operating countries).
Limitations and caveats	Variable national monitoring intensity. Historical data may lack consistency.
Additional notes

Source: (EEA, 2025[172]).

Table A B.4. Water Quality Portal (WQP)

Developed by	U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Type(s) of physical water risk covered	Water quality (freshwater). Blue water
Dimensions of risk included	Hazard: Chemical, physical and biological water quality
Purpose	To provide a unified access point for publicly available U.S. water-quality data.
Intended user	Researchers, water managers, environmental agencies, utilities
Format	Online database
Data source	USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), EPA STORET/WQX, and other partner networks.
Methodology/technology	Harmonised data integration; standard U.S. federal water-quality reporting formats.
Temporal scale	Historic to present.
Update frequency	Daily or weekly depending on data source.
Spatial resolution	Station level
Geographical coverage	United States
Limitations and caveats	Large heterogeneity among sites; not all parameters measured everywhere; metadata coverage varies.
Additional notes	Over 1.5M monitoring sites

Source: (EPA, 2025[173]).

Table A B.5. Global River Water Quality Archive (GRQA)

Developed by	University of Tartu (Estonia) and Yale University (United States)
Type(s) of physical water risk covered	Water quality
Dimensions of risk included	42 parameters aggregated from multiple sources.
Purpose	Provide harmonised global water quality dataset.
Intended user	Researchers, policymakers.
Format	Open-access archive (Zenodo).
Data source	CESI, GEMStat, GLORICH, Waterbase, WQP
Methodology/technology	Data harmonisation, standardisation and aggregation.
Temporal scale	1898‑2023.
Update frequency	Static (published dataset).
Spatial resolution	Station level.
Geographical coverage	Global.
Limitations and caveats	No ongoing updates. Variations in original source methods, uneven spatial and temporal coverage.
Additional notes	Over 17 million measurements. Enables global-scale trend analysis and consistent parameter comparison across continents.

Source: (Virro et al., 2021[174]) (Virro et al., 2025[175]).

Table A B.6. SWatCh (Surface Water Chemistry database)

Developed by	Dalhousie University.
Type(s) of physical water risk covered	Water quality (surface water chemistry). Blue Water
Dimensions of risk included	Hazard
Purpose	Provide standardised global surface-water chemistry dataset of 24 harmonised variables.
Intended user	Researchers.
Format	Harmonised global dataset with GIS shapefile of site locations.
Data source	Multiple global data providers compiled and harmonised by Dalhousie University.
Methodology/technology	Data cleaning, standardisation, harmonisation of sites, variables, methods, metadata and GIS integration.
Temporal scale	1960‑2022.
Update frequency	Static (published dataset).
Spatial resolution	Station level.
Geographical coverage	Global.
Limitations and caveats	No updates.
Additional notes	33 722 sites across seven continents and over 5 million samples.

Source: (Rotteveel, Heubach and Sterling, 2022[176]), The Surface Water Chemistry (SWatCh) database (zenedo).