California Environmental Data Exchange Network (CEDEN)

The California Environmental Data Exchange Network (CEDEN) is a central location to find and share information about California’s surface waters, including streams, lakes, rivers, and the coastal ocean. Many groups in California monitor water quality, aquatic habitat, and wildlife health to ensure good stewardship of our ecological resources. CEDEN aggregates this data and makes it accessible to environmental managers and the public.

Goals of CEDEN

• Incorporate diverse data sources into a standardized, integrated data sharing network;
• Provide direct public access to monitoring data in an easily downloadable form; and
• Support question-driven assessments available via the California Water Quality Monitoring Council's My Water Quality web portals

Why Is It Needed?

The state’s valuable waterways provide many services, including water supply, wildlife habitat, recreation, and flood control. These functions can be hampered by pollution or other manmade stressors. To keep an eye out for problems and improvements, federal environmental regulations require each state to periodically assess the condition of surface water bodies. CEDEN consolidates California’s data in a central location, where it can be easily accessed by resource managers, scientists, citizen groups, and the public for reports and research purposes.

For more information, download the CEDEN Fact Sheet and Information Document