Airquality vs Usgs Water
A side-by-side look at the Airquality and Usgs Water MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Airquality for environment & nature work as a local process; choose Usgs Water for environment & nature as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Airquality when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Environment & Nature domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
get_air_quality, get_forecast.
Choose Usgs Water when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Environment & Nature domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
current_conditions, daily_values, find_sites.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Environment & Nature | Environment & Nature |
| Quality signal | 52/100 · Good | 48/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 2 | 3 |
| Full listing | View Airquality | View Usgs Water |
Tools & capabilities
Airquality tools 2
get_air_qualityCheck current air quality at a location (latitude/longitude or city name, e.g., "40.7128, -74.0060" or "New York"). Returns US AQI score, PM2.5, PM10, CO, NO2, and ozone levels.get_forecastGet hourly air quality forecast for a location. Returns US AQI, PM2.5, and PM10 predictions. Use to plan activities or alert users to upcoming poor air conditions.
Usgs Water tools 3
current_conditionsLatest instantaneous (real-time) readings for one or more USGS gauge sites. Returns the most recent value per site × parameter — e.g. current streamflow and gage height for a river. Common parameter codes: 00060 = discharge/streamflow (ft³/s), 00065 = gage height (ft), 00010 = water temperature (°C…daily_valuesDaily-values time series for a single USGS site + parameter over a date range. Returns one statistic per day (default mean). Useful for trends, hydrographs, and historical comparison. Common statCd: 00003 = mean, 00001 = max, 00002 = min. Common parameter codes: 00060 = discharge (ft³/s), 00065 = g…find_sitesDiscover active USGS gauge sites in a US state that are currently reporting a given parameter (real-time). Returns sites with their latest reading; useful for finding which gauges are live in a region. Can match many sites, so results are capped. Keyless.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Airquality
{
"mcpServers": {
"airquality": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-airquality"
]
}
}
}
Usgs Water
{
"mcpServers": {
"usgs-water": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-usgs-water"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Airquality is categorized under Environment & Nature and uses a local stdio subprocess. Usgs Water belongs to Environment & Nature and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Airquality for environment & nature work and Usgs Water for environment & nature.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Airquality has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Usgs Water has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add airquality and usgs-water as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Airquality has a quality signal of 52/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Usgs Water has 48/100 (Fair) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.