Time series of high-frequency sensor data measuring water temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, specific conductance, total dissolved solids, chlorophyll a, phycocyanin, turbidity, and fluorescent dissolved organic matter at discrete depths in Carvins Cove Reservoir, Virginia, USA in 2020-20

We monitored water quality in Carvins Cove Reservoir (Roanoke, Virginia, USA; 37.3697 -79.958) with high-frequency (10-minute) sensors in 2020-2025. Carvins Cove Reservoir is owned and managed by the Western Virginia Water Authority as a primary drinking water source. This data package consists of datasets from two separate deployments. First, from July 2020 - August 2021, depth profiles of water temperature were measured on 1-meter intervals using HOBO temperature pendant loggers deployed from 0.1 m below the surface of the reservoir to 10 m depth, and also at 15 and 20 m depth. Additionally, water temperature was measured in the Sawmill Branch inflow at 0.5 m depth using HOBO temperature pendant loggers. Second, from 9 April 2021 - 31 December 2025, depth profiles of water temperature were measured on 1-meter intervals from 0.1 m below the surface of the reservoir to 11 m depth and additionally at 15 and 19 m. A YSI EXO2 sonde measured water temperature, conductivity, specific conductance, chlorophyll a, phycocyanin, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, and fluorescent dissolved organic matter at ~1.5 m depth. A YSI EXO3 sonde measured water temperature, conductivity, specific conductance, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, and fluorescent dissolved organic matter at ~9 m depth, which corresponds to the depth of a water outtake valve. The thermistors, EXO3 sonde, and pressure sensor were deployed at stationary, fixed elevations (referred to as positions) deployed off of the dam near the water outtake valves. Due to variable water levels in the reservoir, the depths of these sensors varied over time. In contrast, the EXO2 was deployed on a buoy from 2021-2022 and remained at 1.5 m depth as the water level fluctuated. However, in 2023, the buoy disappeared in a storm, and after that the EXO2 was deployed at a stationary elevation as the water level fluctuated around the sensor. The EXO2 was redeployed on the buoy in 2024. The monitoring site's maximum depth is approximately 19 m deep when the reservoir is at full pond (reservoir maximum depth at its deep hole is 23 m). In the 2025 release of this data product, we added a modeled depth of the reservoir column to the sensor dataset, which is based on a linear relationship between our pressure transducer and the observed water level elevation from the Western Virginia Water Authority.