Water-use data management at the USGS: information model, implementations, prospects of

water- use science

Presentation to OGC TC

Silver Spring, MD

15 June 2010

Overview• USGS roles in collection and

dissemination of water information• Overview of current USGS water-use

activities• StreamStats and water use• USGS water-use databases and their

structures

Acknowledgments

• Todd Augenstein• Eric Evenson• Marilee Horn• Betzaida Reyes• Kernell Ries• Steve Tessler

Water Resources Discipline

• The WRD mission is to collect and disseminate reliable, impartial, and timely information that is needed to understand the Nation's water resources.

• We are a workforce of 3,400 people located in all States and Territories at 181 offices, working with about 1,500 State and local agency cooperators.

• ADAPS Automated Data Processing System• QW Water Quality System• GWSI Groundwater Site Inventory System• SWUDS Site Specific Water-Use Data System

National Water Information System (NWIS)

Sitefile

ADAPS GWSI QW SWUDS

Map of real-time streamflow compared to historical streamflow for the day of the year (United States)

OGC Hydrology and Hydrogeology Interoperability Experiment

• Objectives– Advance design of WaterML2.0 schema– Advance fit of OGC services with gw data– Advance GW data exchange between US and

Canada• Specifically involved

– GWSI in the GW interop experiment (IE); will involve ADAPS in the SW IE

– QWDATA has been represented via the water quality data exchange standard that may inform a WaterML2.0 encoding for QW

• SWUDS • Stores information on sites where water-use activities

occur• Connects water movement from site to site• Stores measurements and estimates of water use

activities• Stores ancillary data such as population served, power

generation, acres irrigated

• SWUDS Data Warehouse • Optimized for retrieval, data aggregation, and reporting

• AWUDS • Data aggregated by county, hydrologic unit, and aquifer

• Compiled for “Estimated Use of Water in the United

States”

USGS Water-Use Databases

USGS Water-Use Activities• 5-Year compilations (National Water-Use

Information Program)

1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975

 

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

USGS Water Use Activities

• WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America’s

Resources for Tomorrow) –> National Water Census

– With dwindling water supplies, lengthening droughts, and rising demand for water in many areas of the country, a sustainable water strategy for America’s water resources is one of my highest priorities. We must ensure stable, secure water supplies for future generations.

Ken Salazar, Secretary of the InteriorFebruary 1, 2010

Water Use Science Vision

• Analyze disparate databases to improve water-use estimation.

• Develop regression models over a variety of landscapes.

• Accurately estimate consumptive use. • Map interbasin transfers of water down

to the HUC 8 level.

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Water Use Science Vision (cont.)

• Quantify in-stream flow for ecology, navigation, and recreation.

• Integrate water use information with stream flow and groundwater information.

• Track human usage of water – source, transport, treatment, demand, consumption, collection, return flow.

Enhancing the Nation’s Water- Use Information

Use New Methods to Estimate Water-Use• Stratified Random Sampling• Regression Models

Ability to track water frompoint of withdrawal thru to

return of flow.

Develop models of water use based on

land use

Discharge PipeMain Sewer Line

Water Treatment Plant

Wellfield

Water Tower

Surface Water body

Intake

Dam

Distribution& Sewer System

Water Tower

Wells and water-treatment plants

Pumping Station

Major users

Main Supply Line

Interconnection

2ND Distributionand Sewer System

Wastewater Treatment Plant

Main Sewer Line

River

Pumping Station

Withdrawal

Return Flow

Withdrawal

Delivery

Release

Demand & Consumptive Use

Transfer

Transfer

Septic Return Flow

Demand & Consumptive Use

Major user

Schematic of human use of water

The logical basis for our water-use data schema canbe thought of as a “link-node” system. (Tessler and others)

Sources Distribution Demand ReturnCollection

S1 D1 M1 R1Qd Qd Qd

Qd

1 C1Qd

S1D1

M1 R1

Qd

2

C1

S1

D2

M2 R2C2

S1 M3 R3C3

CU

BRAC Study Area

• MD BRAC Study area:

-Cecil County-Harford County (HF)-Baltimore County-Howard County-Anne Arundel County (AA)-Montgomery County-Prince George County-Baltimore City

PAMD

DE

VA

A Few Facts About Our Maryland BRAC Work

• Integrated Facility Data from Disparate Databases

• 575 WAP_ID Permits• 198 PWSID Permits• 152 NPDES_ID Permits• 799 State Well_ID Permits• 1001 wells, 210 intakes, 61 discharge pipes,

sources

• Took approximately 1000 man-hours

• Transformed reported withdrawals from permits as far back as 1980 to withdrawal from wells (aquifers) and intakes (surface-water bodies)

• Domestic Demand Regression Model

Domestic Demand Model

• Based on over 90,000 domestic water meter readings• QA/QC• Associated with census blocks

• Computed Domestic Water Demand Coefficients by block• (+)median house value of

owner-occupied single family homes

• (-)population per housing unit• (-)median year of housing

construction (with 1900 as the base value)

• (-)housing unit density.

HF

AA

Che

sape

ake

Bay

Per capita Annual Water Demand Estimations

Distribution

Collection

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What is StreamStats?

• A map-based Web application that provides information that can be used by engineers, managers, planners, and others to make informed decisions on water-related activities

• Primary product is streamflow statistics, such as 100-year flood, mean flow, 7-day, 10-year low flow, etc.

• Allows analysis of upstream/downstream relations along streams and water use

Implementation Status

• 21 states fully implemented

• 4 states partly implemented

• 9 states in implementation process

Water-Use Stream Stats Linkage

SWUDS Water-Use Database (UNIX/Ingres)

ArcHydro Geodatabase

StreamStats

Output

Web service request

XML Water-use data sent

Imported Snapshot

Components of an IdealWater-Use Database System

1. Conveyance-based data storage in a relational database

relational data meet a predetermined level of completeness and quality

2. Incorporates differing geometries for partitioning of water quantities

points of use, distribution/collection areas, land applications, etc.

3. Ontology for handling naming variations

4. Detailed associations of Sites with hydrologic Resource features

6. Store related Quantities that result from the use of waterAcres irrigated, kilowatts generated, population served

7. Ability to incorporate or associate with Regulatory and Permit data

8. Blue Water/Green Water Components9. Spatial (GIS) Component & Common Languages10. What Else?

Components of an IdealWater-Use Data System (cont.)

Quantity Conveyed

Acres Irrigated

Bushelsper

Water Q

Out of basin

transfer

• Test various water-use data model(s) • Handle water-use data as described today plus other kinds that we have

yet to discover and define• Differing locales will undoubtedly have unique challenges

• Extend/Create Feature Models that are WaterML2.0 compliant to handle water-use data

• Populate more water-use databases for use case testing• How will Australian and U.S. data needs be similar or different?• Scale differences

• Create UI tools that help water managers access and analyze water-use data

• Collaborate - collaboration will be a key part of a successful step forward

• Can we use the OGC as a mechanism to bring interested and talented parties together on this task?

Things To Do

Thanks for your time!Mark Nardi

mrnardi@usgs.gov