National Fish Passage Program

The National Fish Passage Program (NFPP) is a voluntary, non-regulatory effort launched by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and managed by the Service’s Fisheries Program. It provides financial and technical assistance to our partners for the removal or bypassing of barriers that impede the movement of fish and other aquatic species. The mission of the NFPP is to restore aquatic species to self sustaining levels by reconnecting habitats that have been fragmented by barriers.

There are more than 6 million barriers throughout the United States. Many of these no longer serve their original purpose and have been abandoned, leaving rivers and aquatic systems fragmented. For humans, unmaintained dams and structures are increasingly becoming major safety hazards and sources of poor water quality. For fish and other aquatic organisms, the fragmentation of habitat continues to be a leading cause of species declines worldwide. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s NFPP reduces aquatic fragmentation and provides benefits to aquatic species populations, improves water quality and safety, and provides recreational and economic benefits to local communities.

Working with over 700 partners, the National Fish Passage Program has removed more than 749 barriers nationwide and has reconnected 11,249 miles of river for fish passage. True to the Service’s mission, the work to date has directly benefited over 85 federal trust fish and other aquatic species. The NFPP supports a national network of biologists, engineers, and tools, such as GeoFIN.

For more information: USFWS Fish Passage Decision Support System

StreamStats

StreamStats is a Web-based Geographic Information System (GIS) that provides users with access to an assortment of analytical tools that are useful for water-resources planning and management, and for engineering design applications, such as the design of bridges. StreamStats allows users to easily obtain streamflow statistics, drainage-basin characteristics, and other information for user-selected sites on streams.

For more information: StreamStats

Vermont Flow-Frequency Tool

The USGS in cooperation with the Vermont Agency of Transportation developed this NHD-based tool to automate the calculation of basin characteristics required by flow-frequency equations that estimate peak-flow frequency and flow duration.

http://nh.water.usgs.gov/projects/vtfloodfreq/index.htm

NHDPlus

Between 1996 and 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and other federal, state and local agencies collaborated to produce the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD), a comprehensive set of digital geospatial data about surface water features such as streams, rivers and lakes. These data can be used by water quality managers to make maps, perform upstream/downstream queries, and link other water-related information to the NHD network.

In 2006, this interagency collaboration produced NHDPlus, a suite of application-ready geospatial products that build upon, and extend, the capabilities of the medium-resolution NHD. NHDPlus integrates the NHD with the National Elevation Dataset (NED) and the Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD). It includes an enhanced NHD stream network with improved names, value-added attributes (such as stream order), incremental drainage areas with landscape characteristics, and flow volume and velocity estimates for pollutant dilution modeling. EPA and USGS have linked many water quality databases to NHDPlus, including stream gaging stations, water quality monitoring sites, and impaired waters, enabling these databases to be queried and analyzed in upstream/downstream order. NHDPlus greatly enhances the ability of researchers and water quality managers to analyze and model water quality data. For more information on NHDPlus, visit http://www.epa.gov/waters. Click on the NHDPlus Quick Link on the right side of the web page.

WATERS (Watershed Assessment, Tracking & Environmental ResultS) unites water quality information that was previously available only from several independent and unconnected databases.

EPA gathers water quality information to address public concerns such as:

• How healthy is my watershed?
• Can I drink the water?
• Can I eat the fish?
• Is it safe to swim in the water?

MyWATERS Mapper dynamically displays snapshots of EPA Office of Water program data. This version of MyWATERS Mapper depicts the status of NPDES permits for each State; summary information from the Clean Watershed Needs Survey; and water quality assessments. Future versions will include other Office of Water Program Snapshots. MyWATERS Mapper also contains water-related geographic themes such as 12-digit watersheds, the national stream network known as the National Hydrography Dataset, and other water-related map layers. MyWATERS Mapper enables you to create customized maps at national and local scales.

For more information: USEPA Waters

New England SPARROW

This NHD-based version of the USGS SPARROW water-quality model aids the development of regional nutrient water-quality criteria and total maximum daily loads (TMDL) for New England streams.

http://nh.water.usgs.gov/WhatsNew/newsletters/2001Newsletter/nutrientmodel.htm

eWRIS

The State of California Division of Water Rights Electronic Water Rights Information Management System (eWRIMS) is a computer database developed by the State Water Resources Control Board to track information on water rights in California. eWRIMS contains information on water right permits and licenses that have been issued by the State Water Resources Control Board and its predecessors.

eWRIMS consists of both a tabular database and an integrated geographic information system (GIS). You can search eWRIMS data by several criteria, including the water right owner's name, watershed, stream system, and county. After you have executed a water right search, you can plot the results. The GIS will visually display the point(s) of diversion for each of the water rights that matched your search criteria. In the GIS, you can view important information about each water right that you've selected.

For more information: California State Water Resources Control Board

NRIS Water

The U.S. Forest Service Natural Resource Information System (NRIS) Water module employs the NHD as its common hydrologic framework to support aquatic resource decision-making on National Forests.

http://www.fs.fed.us/nrm/index.shtml/water/

Using the HEM tools to create seafloor drainage systems.

A newly compiled bathymetric terrain model (BTM) covering 330,000 km² of the seafloor along the Atlantic Margin between Georges Bank and the Blake Plateau was analyzed using the standard terrestrial techniques within ArcHydro Tools. Multibeam sonar depth data from 28 surveys was compiled to produce a 100-m BTM; providing the first detailed view of the entire continental shelf, slope, and rise off the East coast of the United States. Watershed analysis was used to subdivide the BTM into 13 watersheds that were named for the major shelf-breaching canyons within each watershed. Drainage lines and geometric networks were constructed for all canyons using ArcHydro Tools; providing a framework to investigate along-margin variation in submarine canyon morphology and channel density.

Drainage Inlet points were calculated for each of the 13 watersheds. Baltimore Canyon Watershed (Fig. 1) had a total of 1201 inlet points. Our analysis required tracing downstream from only those inlet points (249) that were at or near the shelf edge (~2400 m depth). The "Convert Points to Flags/Barriers" function within HEM Tools was used to convert only these selected points (Highlighted in Fig 1) to Flags and then trace downstream. This produced a drainage network for only the canyon heads and eliminated the secondary drainage systems downstream.

Andrews, B.D., and Brothers, D.S. 2012. ArcHydro on the Seafloor: Hydrologic Tools for Morphologic Analysis of the Atlantic Margin. Presented at 2012 AWRA Spring Specialty Conference GIS & Water Resources VII, New Orleans, LA. 26-28 March 2012.

http://www.awra.org/meetings/Spring2012/doc/abs/Sess%2039%20abs.pdf

Incident Command Tool for Protecting Drinking Water

According to the paper "Using NHD in the Incident Command Information Tool" by William B Samuels and Douglas Ryan, the Incident Command Tool "integrates multiple sources of information to give decision makers concise summaries of current conditions and forecasts of future consequences of terrorist acts on public water supply safety". This tool uses 1:100,000 scale NHD.

For More information see http://proceedings.esri.com/library/userconf/proc04/docs/pap1528.pdf or http://eh2o.saic.com/Documentation/ICWater_AWRA_Impact_Journal.pdf

Samuels, William B., Ryan, Douglas. USFS/USEPA Incident Command Information Tool for Protecting Drinking Water, 2004 ESRI User Conference Proceedings, August 9–13, 2004. http://proceedings.esri.com/library/userconf/proc04/docs/pap1528.pdf

US Topo

The NHD is the surface water component of the National Map. Hydrographic layers on topographic mapping are important because not only do water features provide important landmarks, but they also are important in defining topography. The NHD includes datasets covering all streams and lakes at scales of 1:24,000 and 1:100,000. In some areas, the NHD is being supplemented with data larger than 1:24,000-scale. The NHD provides a true network that supports the analysis of any type of movement (navigation, sediment transport, effluent dispersion, for example) by surface waters.

For more information see the USGS USTopo product at http://nationalmap.gov/ustopo/

Analyzing Legacy U.S. Geological Survey Geochemical Databases Using GIS—Applications for a National Mineral Resource Assessment

This report emphasizes geographic information system analysis and the display of data stored in the legacy U.S. Geological Survey National Geochemical Database for use in mineral resource investigations. Geochemical analyses of soils, stream sediments, and rocks that are archived in the National Geochemical Database provide an extensive data source for investigating geochemical anomalies. A study area in the Egan Range of east-central Nevada was used to develop a geographic information system analysis methodology for two different geochemical datasets involving detailed (Bureau of Land Management Wilderness) and reconnaissance-scale (National Uranium Resource Evaluation) investigations. ArcGIS was used to analyze and thematically map geochemical information at point locations. Watershed-boundary datasets served as a geographic reference to relate potentially anomalous sample sites with hydrologic unit codes at varying scales. The National Hydrography Dataset was analyzed with Hydrography Event Management and ArcGIS Utility Network Analyst tools to delineate potential sediment-sample provenance along a stream network. These tools can be used to track potential upstream-sediment-contributing areas to a sample site. This methodology identifies geochemically anomalous sample sites, watersheds, and streams that could help focus mineral resource investigations in the field.

For more information: http://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11c05/

Yager, D.B., Hofstra, A.H., and Granitto, Matthew, 2012, Analyzing legacy U.S. Geological Survey geochemical databases using GIS—Applications for a national mineral resource assessment: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 11–C5, 28 p.

Analyzing Legacy U.S. Geological Survey Geochemical Databases Using GIS—Applications for a National Mineral Resource Assessment

This report emphasizes geographic information system analysis and the display of data stored in the legacy U.S. Geological Survey National Geochemical Database for use in mineral resource investigations. Geochemical analyses of soils, stream sediments, and rocks that are archived in the National Geochemical Database provide an extensive data source for investigating geochemical anomalies. A study area in the Egan Range of east-central Nevada was used to develop a geographic information system analysis methodology for two different geochemical datasets involving detailed (Bureau of Land Management Wilderness) and reconnaissance-scale (National Uranium Resource Evaluation) investigations. ArcGIS was used to analyze and thematically map geochemical information at point locations. Watershed-boundary datasets served as a geographic reference to relate potentially anomalous sample sites with hydrologic unit codes at varying scales. The National Hydrography Dataset was analyzed with Hydrography Event Management and ArcGIS Utility Network Analyst tools to delineate potential sediment-sample provenance along a stream network. These tools can be used to track potential upstream-sediment-contributing areas to a sample site. This methodology identifies geochemically anomalous sample sites, watersheds, and streams that could help focus mineral resource investigations in the field.

For more information: http://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11c05/

Yager, D.B., Hofstra, A.H., and Granitto, Matthew, 2012, Analyzing legacy U.S. Geological Survey geochemical databases using GIS—Applications for a national mineral resource assessment: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 11–C5, 28 p.

StreamStats has the ability to analyze the stream network upstream and downstream from a user-selected point and to identify and provide information for other points of interest that are located along the network. This functionality is known as "stream-network navigation" or "network tracing." An explanation of stream networks is needed before this functionality can be fully understood and utilized.

A stream network is a digital representation of streams and constructed channels for a given area as would be seen on an aerial photograph or on a topographic map. As with photographs and maps, stream networks can be shown at various scales, with smaller scales having less detail than larger scales. In a digital stream network, connecting lines are drawn through lakes, wetlands, bridges, culverts, and any other features where the stream channel is not visible from maps or photographs, thus eliminating any breaks in the linear network. Area features such as lakes, ponds, and wide rivers are represented by polygons. Points represent locations of interest, such as dams, streamgages, diversions, and wastewater discharges. These features are referred to as point events, which have been indexed to the stream network. Features attributed to lengths along a stream, such as an impaired reach, are represented as reach events.

Reaches in the network are segments of surface water with similar hydrologic characteristics. Reaches are commonly defined by a length of stream between two confluences, or a lake or pond. Each reach is assigned a unique reach number and a flow direction. The length of the reach, the type of reach, and other important information are assigned as attributes to each reach. Point and reach events are assigned addresses that consist of the reach number and the percentage of the distance along the reach from the downstream end, making it possible to navigate upstream or downstream from a selected point to locate the events.

Network navigation is enabled on two different stream networks in StreamStats, the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) and the National Hydrography Dataset Plus (NHDPlus). The NHD was developed by the USGS in cooperation with numerous other federal, state, and local agencies. Medium-resolution (1:100,000 scale) and high-resolution (1:24,000 scale) versions of the NHD are available nationally as seamless datasets, with higher resolution data available in some areas. Detailed information on the NHD and access to available data can be found on the NHD Web site.

The NHDPlus was developed through a partnership between the USGS and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The NHDPlus has combines the medium-resolution NHD with a digital elevation model with 30-meter grid spacing to produce several derivative datasets that enable the definition of the land surface areas (catchment) that contribute flow to each stream reach, and numerous stream reach and catchment area attributes, such as reach slope, mean flow, and velocity estimates. Detailed information on the NHD and access to available data can be found on the NHDPlus Web site.

StreamStats has several tools that use stream-network navigation, including Raindrop Trace to Network, Show Network Path and Profile, Trace from Outlet, Ad Hoc Trace, Configure NHD Trace, and Estimate Flows Based on Similar Streamgaging Stations. These tools and how to use them are fully explained in the StreamStats User Instructions. The tools are used for navigation upstream or downstream along a chosen stream network and identification of features along the network. The starting point for a trace can be the outlet of a previously delineated drainage basin or any user-selected site along a stream. Tracing works only within the bounds or 4-digit hydrologic units in the Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD).

The Configure NHD Trace tool is used before a trace is done to specify the network (NHD or NHDPlus) to be used, the direction of the trace, and the map layers that will participate in the trace. The map layers could consist of any types of features, such as dams and streamgaging stations, which have been associated to the stream network by means of a reach address. The Configure NHD Trace tool also allows users to load their own layer of indexed points for tracing. When the trace process is completed, a window will appear that contains a listing of any features found from the trace, and if available, links from the features to additional information about them.

The primary benefit of the trace functionality is to understand how the flow at a particular site of interest may be affected by upstream features or how downstream flow may be affected by existing or proposed activities at the selected site. The USGS has indexed a subset of the National Inventory of Dams dam locations and USGS streamgaging and water-quality stations to the NHD. The EPA and many state and local agencies have indexed numerous water-related datasets to the NHDPlus, and many similar efforts are underway. The layers that are available for tracing in StreamStats will vary by state and with time.

Below is a view of the StreamStats map frame that illustrates the results of an upstream trace for a selected point on a stream in New Hampshire, represented as a dark blue dot with red cross-hairs near the bottom right on the map. The drainage area for the selected site is shown as magenta with a black boundary. The part of the stream network and the point events that were found in the trace are shown in cyan. The accompanying report indicates that five water-quality stations, all of which also are streamgages, and one additional streamgage, as well as three dams, were found in the upstream trace. Users can obtain information for each of the reaches and the water-quality and streamgaging stations identified in the trace.

For more information on StreamStats, please see
http://streamstats.usgs.gov/index.html