Water Availability and Use Science Program

United States Geological Survey

Water Use Data and Research

Water-use related data in the USGS Site-Specific Water-Use Data System (SWUDS)

The purpose of this document is to provide State water-resources agencies participating in the USGS Water Use Data and Research Program with information on the types of data and metadata the USGS collects and stores in SWUDS. State agencies can use this as a guide for planning the export of their water-use data and transfer of that data to the USGS.

· Data should be provided in digital form in a standard format such as tab-delimited text, CSV, etc., or as web services. Microsoft Excel files are discouraged, to avoid issues with automatic rounding and handing of null vs. zero values.

· Items in bold text are required in SWUDS

· Short definitions and coding lists for some of these items can be found in the Water Data for the Nation help system (https://help.waterdata.usgs.gov/codes-and-parameters/codes#SI).

· Data shared under USGS Water Use Data and Research do not need to contain the USGS codes, but any codes used should be defined and be able to be mapped to the codes used by USGS. For example, if the applicant's database has a set of water-use codes or categories, supply those codes and work with USGS personnel to map them to the categories used by USGS.

· The different groups of information (water sources, water-use facilities, annual/monthly usage, and other annual/monthly data) can be provided separately if common identifiers in each file allow the information to be linked together.

· Contact Nancy Barber (, 678-924-6627) for additional information on the items listed, file structures, or other questions about linking data to SWUDS.

Information about water sources and return points:

Type of site (well, surface-water intake, outfall, etc.--more detail on site types used by USGS here: https://help.waterdata.usgs.gov/code/site_tp_query?fmt=html)

Geographic information:

Latitude/longitude, datum, method, accuracy

State and county

Name of the site (USGS may use a different name in SWUDS, but can use the name used by the State when communicating about the site with the applicant)

Type of water use (public supply, irrigation, industrial, etc.)

Well data for groundwater sites:

Aquifer

Depth of well

Date drilled

Surface-water source information:

Type of surface-water body (stream, lake, estuary, etc.)

Name of water body

All ID numbers known for the site, such as owner-assigned numbers, permit IDs (see permit below), agency file numbers, USGS site identifiers if known, etc.

Owner information:

Owner name

Owner address

Permit information, if any:

Permitting agency

Type of permit (drinking water, NPDES, allocation/withdrawal, water right, drilling permission, etc.)

Permit number

Permit start date

Permit expiration date

Permitted flow rates or volume and time period, average and maximum (gallons per day, cubic feet per second, acre-feet per month)

Information about water systems and facilities

Name of the water-use facility

Type of facility (water distribution system, water treatment plant, power plant, industrial facility, etc.—see the site type list above for more)

Geographic information:

State and county

Hydrologic unit code (HUC12 is preferred if the facility primarily falls in one, HUC8 is OK)

Latitude/longitude, datum, method, accuracy (not required for most facilities since they are not point locations)

Type of water use (public supply, irrigation, industrial, etc.)

All ID numbers known, such as permit IDs (see permit below), agency file numbers, etc.

Owner information:

Owner name

Owner address

Permit information, if any:

Permitting agency

Type of permit (drinking water, NPDES, allocation/withdrawal, water right, etc.)

Permit number

Permit start date

Permit expiration date

Permitted flow rates or volume and time period (average and maximum)

List of water sources, if not apparent from the permit information included

Annual and monthly water-use data

Note: water-use data must be separated by source (groundwater vs surface-water)--USGS SWUDS cannot store information on total withdrawals from a mix of groundwater and surface water.

Type of data (withdrawals, return flow, deliveries to customer groups or other water systems, etc.)

Source or system for these values (the well or intake ID, a facility or system ID if the values are for a facility as a whole and not by well/intake)

Type of water use (public supply, irrigation, industrial, etc.)

Calendar year

Month

Water-use value:

Flow rate or volume

Units (million gallons per day, acre-feet, thousand gallons, etc.)

Method of measurement (metered, estimated, etc.)

Accuracy

Other annual and monthly data

Type of data (population served, consumptive use, power production, acres irrigated, etc.)

Year

Month

Annual value:

Units for annual value:

Monthly values:

Units for monthly values:

Document posted on the USGS WUDR website May 8, 2017