StreamStats:

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StreamStats
A Web Site for Stream Information

• By Kernell Ries

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Outline

• Background
• Massachusetts StreamStats
• National StreamStats Prototype
• Presentations by StreamStats Team
• Implementation Plans and Unresolved Issues

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Background
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Need for Streamflow Statistics

• Water resources planning, management, and
  permitting by Federal, State, local agencies
• Instream flow determinations for controlling
  pollution and protecting habitat
• Designing and permitting facilities such as
  wastewater-treatment plants, hydropower plants,
  and water-supply reservoirs
• Designing structures such as roads, bridges,
  culverts, dams, locks, and levees

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Problems in Providing Statistics

• Published streamflow statistics for
  data-collection stations are scattered among
  hundreds of reports nationally
• Many publications are out of date and/or out of
  print
• Labor cost for information requests is high
• Streamflow statistics are not available
  everywhere they are needed

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Regression Equations

• Used to estimate streamflow statistics for
  ungaged sites
• Relate streamflow statistics to measured basin
  characteristics
• Developed by all 48 USGS Districts on a
  State-by-State basis through the cooperative
  program
• Often not used because of large efforts needed to
  determine basin characteristics
• Users often measure basin characteristics
  inaccurately, increasing errors in estimates

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Example Regression Equation

• Regression equations take the formQ100
  0.471A0.715E0.827SH0.472
• where
• A is drainage area, in square miles
• E is mean basin elevation, in feet
• SH is a shape factor, dimensionless

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Basin Characteristics Used for Peak Flows
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Massachusetts StreamStats
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Massachusetts StreamStats provides-

• Published streamflow statistics, basin
  characteristics, and other information for
  data-collection stations
• Estimates of streamflow statistics, basin
  characteristics, and other information for
  user-selected points on ungaged streams

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Massachusetts StreamStats http//ststdmamrl.er.us
gs.gov/streamstats/
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Web Application Components
User Interface
Streamflow Statistics Database
Statistics Calculation Program
GIS Database
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User Interface

• Displays 120 map layers
• Allows adding/subtracting layers one at a time
• Zoom, pan, identify
• Displays data-collection site locations
• Allows selection of data-collection site
  locations and ungaged sites
• Displays results in a Web browser window

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Statistics Database Includes

• Descriptive information, such as station name and
  number, coordinates, period of record
• Previously published streamflow statistics for
  data-collection stations
• Previously published basin characteristics, such
  as drainage area, total stream length, mean basin
  slope

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GIS Database Includes

• Map layers needed to determine drainage
  boundaries and areas
• Map layers needed to measure basin
  characteristics in regression equations
• Map layers needed to locate sites of interest,
  such as state and town boundaries, streams, and
  roads
• Digital topographic maps (DRGs) for detailed
  selection

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Statistics Calculation Program

• Determines drainage boundaries and measures basin
  characteristics for user-selected sites
• Solves regression equations to obtain estimated
  streamflow statistics and provides prediction
  intervals as estimates of errors
• Delivers basin characteristics, streamflow
  statistics, prediction intervals, and maps of
  user-defined basins to user interface

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Benefits

• Published statistics are readily available
• Ungaged site process takes 5 to 15 minutes
• Large collections of maps, equipment, and
  software are not necessary
• Consistent information delivery
• Little or no additional error is introduced
• Only basic understanding of hydrology, computer
  science, geographic analysis is needed
• Reduced information requests

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National StreamStats Prototype
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National Prototype

• Prototype will potentially work for any State
• Easier to use and with more functionality than
  the MA application
• Currently implemented only for parts of ID
• Implementation planned for NH, VT, MA, ID, TN,
  and KS within a year
• In cooperation with ESRI

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Functionality

• Zoom to street address, geographic name, or
  coordinates
• Display of default base data layers for selected
  map scale ranges
• Evaluate basin boundaries in the map frame
• Print maps shown in the map frame
• Download basin boundary and other map data
• More analysis functionality (drainage-area ratio
  estimates, weighted estimates, etc.) is planned

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Development Strategy

• Program will run as a dll in ESRI software
  (ArcMap, ArcIMS, ArcSDE)
• Programming done in MS Visual Basic and XML,
  based on the ArcGIS Hydro-Data Model and Tools
• All GIS data will reside on a single server
• New streamflow statistics database was developed
• The National Flood Frequency Program (NFF) used
  to solve regression equations
• Extensive pre-processing of basin characteristics
  to speed computations

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StreamStatsDB

• StreamStatsDB is used to manage streamflow and
  basin characteristics for data-collection stations

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StreamStatsDB, contd

• Linked to map in user interface showing site
  locations
• Built using MS Access and Visual Basic
• Contains fields for all streamflow and basin
  characteristics that are currently used, and
  allows new characteristics to be added
• Data entered by District office personnel

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National Flood Frequency Program

• NFF will solve regression equations for
  StreamStats

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Modifications to NFF

• Ability to solve regression equations for any
  flow type
• Calculation of prediction intervals
• Calculation of drainage-area ratio estimates and
  weighting with regression estimates
• Adding of data base attributes to allow use as a
  subroutine of StreamStats
• Urban equations will not be available in
  StreamStats

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AdditionalPresentations
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Dean Djokic, Zichuan Ye (ESRI)

• Prototype demonstration
• Conceptual design
• Integration with ArcHydro Tools

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Jacqueline Coles (USGS)

• Prototype system configuration
• Web deployment

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Alan Rea (USGS)

• Data requirements and architecture
• EDNA approach

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Peter Steeves (USGS)

• New England approach

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Kernell Ries (USGS)

• Implementation plans
• Unresolved Issues
• Summary

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StreamStats Implementation Plans
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Implementation Plan

• District offices will complete required work,
  usually through cooperative funding
• StreamStats team will provide guidance and
  support to Districts
• States will be put on line internally to check
  results
• States will be made available to the public when
  results have been proven acceptable

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District Responsibilities

• Provide regression equations
• Populate the streamflow statistics database
• Develop any necessary GIS data
• Test the application and summarize results
• Potentially develop new regression equations,
  using GIS data to measure basin characteristics
• Approve use of equations on Web

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State Implementation Options

• Implement regression equations first
• Implement existing equations only
• Develop new equations
• Implement database for data-collection sites
  first
• Populate with previously calculated statistics
• Calculate new statistics
• Implement database and regression equations at
  the same time

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Long-Term Plan

• Include additional States
• Add drainage-area ratio estimates
• Add batch processing
• Add automated update of non-interpretive
  streamflow statistics
• Add methods for regulated streams
• Add sediment (and possibly other) data

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Internal Issues

• Integration with other USGS efforts, such as the
  National Map, NWIS-Web, SPARROW, TerraServer
• Standardized measuring procedures and naming of
  basin characteristics
• Policy for updating streamflow statistics for
  data-collection stations
• Long-term support

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External Issues

• Links to other applications and data bases, such
  as EPAs EnviroMapper, FEMAs MSC Product Map
  Search, NRCSs Lighthouse Project
• Software updates (Arc 9, etc.)
• Technical support of ArcHydro Tools

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Summary

• StreamStats uses cutting-edge technology to put
  stream information in the hands of users
• Design is based on the ArcHydro Data Model and
  the functionality of the ArcHydro Toolset
• Design is flexible and expandable
• Implementation for States will be done through
  cooperative funding agreements
• Full implementation will likely take several years

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More information

• National StreamStats web page
• http//water.usgs.gov/osw/programs/streamstats.ht
  ml
• Massachusetts StreamStats web page
• http//ststdmamrl.er.usgs.gov/streamstats/
• NFF Program web page
• http//water.usgs.gov/software/nff.html