Monitored flow and water quality data from upper river taw observatory in 2018 and 2019 water years

As part of the delivery for a strategic research programme, Soil to Nutrition, a multi-scale landscape observatory - the upper River Taw observatory (URTO, https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/project/upper-river-taw-observatory-urto) has been established in a landscape with mixed land use to support the integration of science, stakeholder engagement and policy support. 15-minute resolution data have been collected from 3 nested catchments, namely: Upper Ratcombe, Lower Ratcombe and Pecketsford, using multi-parameter sensors. These sensors cover river flow (water level, flow velocity, discharge) and physiochemical parameters (temperature, pH, turbidity, pH, conductivity, ammonium and nitrate). The recorded data have been visually inspected and assessed based on expert judgement with built-in instrument logs. Data considered to be erroneous were removed and each data point has been assigned a quality assurance code to assist the appropriate use of the data. Ultimately, the user of the data must assess the data they are using according to the context in which they wish to use it. Separate image files in British National Grid Reference (NGR) are also provided for mapping the catchment boundaries.