Conceptual design for the National Water Information System
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Norman E. Hutchison
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Conceptual design for the National Water Information System
The Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey began the design and development of a National Water Information System (NWIS) in 1983. The NWIS will replace and integrate the existing data systems of the National Water Data Storage and Retrieval System, National Water Data Exchange, National Water-Use Information Program, and Water Resources Scientific Information Center. The NWIS has been designed as an interactive, distributed data system. The software system has been designed in a modular manner which integrates existing software functions and allows multiple use of software modules. The data base has been designed as a relational data model that allows integrated storage of the existing water data, water-use data, and water-data indexing information by using a common relational data base management system. The NWIS will be operated on microcomputers located in each of the Water Resources Division's District offices and many of its State, subdistrict, and field offices. The microcomputers will be linked together through a national telecommunication network maintained by the U. S. Geological Survey. The NWIS is scheduled to be placed in operation in 1990.
Open-File Report↗
Outline for a hydrologic data base for Portugal
The Agency for International Development requested the assistance of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to help the Government of Portugal in the investigation and management of ground water resources in the Algarve region. The assistance was to be provided in four specialty areas, but the scope of this report is limited to making recommendations on the design of a hydrologic data base for Portugal. It is recommended that a small data base be developed initially to meet the needs for ground-water data in the Algarve region utilizing personnel in the Division of Geohydrology in the Directorate of Water Resources Development. This data base may eventually be expanded to cover all regions of Portugal and include all types of hydrologic data, including streamflow, precipitation, and surface-water quality, as well as groundwater data. Consideration should be given to implementing a commercial data base management system (DBMS) in 2-3 years when significant amounts of data, including surface-water data, begin to be entered from other regions of Portugal. Training in computer programming and data base systems should be provided to provide a broad base of support for the data base system and groundwater modeling. It is also recommended that a uniform system for identifying hydrologic sites and basins be developed for eventual use by all agencies (departments) involved in water resources development and management in Portugal.
Open-File Report↗
WATSTORE: National Water Data Storage and Retrieval System of the U. S. Geological Survey; user's guide
The U.S. Geological Survey investigates the occurrence , quantity, quality, distribution, and movement of the surface and underground water resources of the Nation. The investigations, which are conducted by the Water Resources Division, of the Survey include: systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of water data; investigation of in and agricultural water requirements; research and development to improve study techniques and methodologies to better understand the hydrologic principles that form the scientific basis of investigation; and publication and other forms of release to the public of results and data from these investigations. A large scale computerized storage and retrieval system is used by the Geological Survey to store and disseminate water data acquired through its many activities. The Geological Survey's National Water Data Storage and Retrieval System (WATSTORE) was implemented in November 1971. In addition to its data processing, storage, and retrieval capabilities, WATSTORE has the capability of providing computer-printed tables, computer-printed graphs, statistical analyses of data, and digital plots. The system is operated and maintained on the central computer facility of the Survey at its National Center, Reston, Va. an through approximately 50 terminals in Water Resources Division district an subdistrict offices located in major cities throughout the country. Asccess to WATSTORE is limited by hardware, available telephone lines, etc; for example, direct access is possible only through terminal equipment capable of interfacing with an IBM 370/155 computer. WATSTORE is now (1975) available to other Federal agencies and selected cooperators of the Geological Survey who acquire and(or) use water data. The WATSTORE User's Guide describes the systeb and how it operates.
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Floods in Nebraska on small drainage areas, magnitude and frequency
Flood hazard information is needed for small streams as well as for large ones. This report explains methods of defining the magnitude and frequency of floods in Nebraska on uncontrolled and unregulated streams which have about 300 square miles or less of drainage area contributing to surface runoff. Composite frequency curves defined for two flood regions express a ratio of floods with recurrence intervals ranging from 1.1 to 25 years to the mean annual flood. Curves for 10 hydrologic areas were defined to show the relation of the mean annual flood to the contributing drainage area, A flood-frequency curve can be drawn from these two sets of curves for any site in the State within the range of drainage area and recurrence interval that is defined by the base data and not materially affected by the works of man. The two sets of curves are based on all available pertinent data from records of 5 or more years' duration. This report includes a tabulation of maximum flood peaks at gaging stations used and at a number of miscellaneous sites which have less than 300 square miles of contributing drainage area.
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