Water Quantity

Water-Quantity File Components

The Water-Quantity File is subsequent to the conveyance file. It contains 34 attributes (13 mandatory, 16 conditionally mandatory, and 5 non-mandatory)

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Important Links:

• Water-Quantity template
• NWIS User Manual

Mandatory Information*	Non-Mandatory Data	Conditional Mandatory Data**

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Water-Quantity Variables

From Agency Code*	From Site Number*	To Agency Code*	To Site Number*	Delete Record Indicator (Modify)	Year*	Data Source Code*	Water Quantity Code*	Water Type Code*	Method Code*	Accuracy Code*	Data Aging Code*	Water Use Subtype Code*	Preferred Flag*	Irrigation Method Code	Salinity Code	Published Date	Calculated Flag**	Annual Value**	Annual Reporting Unit Name**	Monthly Reporting Unit Name**	Water Quantity Comment	January Value**	February Value**	March Value**	April Value**	May Value**	June Value**	July Value**	August Value**	September Value**	October Value**	November Value**	December Value**

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Water-Quantity Attribute Dictionary

Attribute Name	Definition	Data Entry Rules
From Agency Code*	The agency code associated with the from-site.	A conveyance must exist with the indicated from-site and to-site before water quantity data can be added.
From Site Number*	The site number associated with the from-site.	A conveyance must exist with the indicated from-site and to-site before water quantity data can be added.
To Agency Code*	The agency code associated with the to-site.	A conveyance must exist with the indicated from-site and to-site before water quantity data can be added.
To Site Number*	The site number associated with the to-site.	A conveyance must exist with the indicated from-site and to-site before water quantity data can be added.
Delete Record Indicator (Modify)	The delete record indicator is used in modify transactions to indicate which records should be deleted.	Enter from-site number, from-site agency code, to-site number, to-site agency code, national water-use category code, water quantity code, data source, measuring method, year, and a value of '$' or '*' for delete record indicator. All water quantity data associated with this water quantity will be deleted.
Year*	The 4-digit calendar year associated with the data.	Enter the 4-digit calendar year. The year can not be greater than the current year.
Data Source Code*	The agency code of the data source that compiled, measured, estimated, or otherwise provided the data.	Enter the agency code of the data source that provided the data. The system validates that the agency code is in the NWIS reference list AGENCY.
Water Quantity Code*	Water quantity code. The water quantity code is stored on the water quantity record. One to three water quantities can be stored per conveyance. One value for the source, one for the destination, and a loss/gain value. It is not necessary to enter all three values.	The user must enter the water quantity type code to indicate the type of quantity data being stored on the conveyance. Water quantity types are dependent on the conveyance primary actions. The valid quantity codes are WD-withdrawal; DL-delivery; LG-loss-gain; RL-release; RT-return; UR-user release; and UD-user release.
Water Type Code*	The water type code is used to identify the type of water that is conveyed. Multiple water quantity records can be entered, one for each water type.	Water type codes are dependent on the site type. If the conveyance has a from-site, then the valid water types are dependent on the from-site. For example, if the from-site is a well then the water type must be ground water (GW). If the conveyance consists of a standalone to-site then the water type is dependent on the site type of the to-site. See "water type code" in the glossary for a list of valid water types by site type.
Method Code*	Measuring method code. Identifies the method used to either collect, measure, estimate, or otherwise derive a value. Multiple values for the same water quantity can be entered for unique combinations of data source code and measuring method. However, only one water quantity code can be flagged as the preferred value, see preferred value.	"The measuring method code must be a valid code in reference list MEAS_METH_CD.
The method can be unknown (UNKN) or unspecified (UNSP)."
Accuracy Code*	Accuracy code. A 1-character alphabetic code indicating the accuracy of the method used by a facility to measure a total amount of water.	The user must enter an accuracy code when adding quantity data for a given record for the first time. The values for accuracy code are E-excellent, G-good, F-fair, P-poor, and U-unspecified.
Data Aging Code	The data aging code associated with 12 monthly values and an annual value for a calendar year.	The system defaults the aging code to working (W). You can also enter aging code as either accepted-as-reported without validation (O), or approved and ready for publication (A). The aging code must be set.
Water Use Subtype Code*	Water Use Subtype Code. Water use subtype code associated with the data. The code may or may not match the national water use category code found in the site file. The national water use category code in the site file represents the present day use. The code entered with the water quantity data represents historic use.	The national water use category code reference list, table NAT_WATER_USE_CD, is used to validate codes that are used for the water use subtype code. However, the National Water Use Code of TE, Thermoelectric Power, is not valid for Water Use Subtype. For water use subtype the code TE was replaced with PO and PC. PO is used for Thermoelectric Once-through cooling and PC is for Thermoelectric Circulation cooling. For thermoelectric power the code TE is entered as a national water use category code in the site file whereas the codes PO and PC ( water use subtype codes) are used when entering water quantity data.
Preferred Flag*	Water quantity preferred flag. Indicates whether a water quantity value is a preferred value.	The user may set the preferred flag. If the preferred flag is not set on the Add transaction, the setting will default to N (not preferred). Only one preferred record can exist for a given conveyance, data source code, measuring method, year, and national water use combination. Set the value to "Y" to mark a record as preferred.
Irrigation Method Code	Irrigation method code.	The user may enter this code only for water quantity data with a national water use category of IR (irrigation). If the user does not enter this code it will default to UN (unspecified). The valid codes are FL (flood), MC (micro), SP (spray), and UN (unspecified). If the code is not valid or is set to some other code besides UN for non-IR data, the transaction will be rejected.
Salinity Code	Indicates the salinity of withdrawal water quantity data. For water-use estimates, saline water is defined as that containing more than 1,000 milligrams per liter of dissolved solids.	The system validates salinity code against the NWIS reference list SALINITY_CD. The system default value is unspecified (N). Salinity code is entered for 12 monthly values and the annual value. Valid salinity codes include fresh (F), saline (S), unknown (U), and (N) for unspecified.
Published Date	Water quantity data publish date. This is the date the data was first published.	The user may enter the date the water quantity data was published. The date must be entered as YYYYMMDD. The date will then be parsed out by the application and stored in a date field. The date published must be equal to or less than the date the record was entered. Only the user nwis or a dba user can delete the publishing date.
Calculated Flag**	Calcuated flag. A value of "Y" means the annual value was not entered. The system calculates and stores the annual value from the monthly values.	If the calculated flag is set to "Y" then 12 monthly values must be entered. If the water quantity for a month is zero then enter 0 for that month. Or enter "N" to enter the annual value and not have the system calculate it.
Annual Value**	Annual water quantity value. The annual water quantity value is expressed in the units of the original measurement. The annual value represents the quantity for a calendar year. The user can enter the annual value in any one of the supported units.	The user must enter at least one original or reported monthly value or an annual value. Water quantity values are positive value except for loss/gain. Loss/gain is entered as a positive value for a gain and negative value for a loss.
Annual Reporting Unit Name**	The reporting unit abbreviation for the annual reported or original quantity amount.	The system verifies the annual reporting unit against the NWIS reference list table WU_UNIT. Enter the report unit abbreviation (water unit abbreviation text, wu_unit_abbrv_tx). For example, enter Mgal/d for million gallons per day. The system checks for the existence of a reporting unit value. If annual values are entered then enter the report unit.
Monthly Reporting Unit Name*	The reporting unit abbreviation for the monthly reported or original quantity amounts.	The system verifies the monthly reporting unit against the NWIS reference list table WU_UNIT. Enter the report unit abbreviation (water unit abbreviation text, wu_unit_abbrv_tx). For example, enter Mgal/d for million gallons per day. The system checks for the existence of a reporting unit value. If monthly values are entered then enter the report unit.
Water Quantity Comment	Annual comment text. A 255 character free-format comment can be entered for each set of 12 monthly values and an annual value.	The user may enter a comment for a given water quantity record. The comment must not be greater than 255 characters.
January Value**	The reported or original quantity amount for the month of January entered by the user.	The user must enter at least one original or reported monthly value or an annual value.
February Value**	The reported or original quantity amount for the month of February entered by the user.	The user must enter at least one original or reported monthly value or an annual value.
March Value**	The reported or original quantity amount for the month of March entered by the user.	The user must enter at least one original or reported monthly value or an annual value.
April Value**	The reported or original quantity amount for the month of April entered by the user.	The user must enter at least one original or reported monthly value or an annual value.
May Value**	The reported or original quantity amount for the month of May entered by the user.	The user must enter at least one original or reported monthly value or an annual value.
June Value**	The reported or original quantity amount for the month of June entered by the user.	The user must enter at least one original or reported monthly value or an annual value.
July Value**	The reported or original quantity amount for the month of July entered by the user.	The user must enter at least one original or reported monthly value or an annual value.
August Value**	The reported or original quantity amount for the month of August entered by the user.	The user must enter at least one original or reported monthly value or an annual value.
September Value**	The reported or original quantity amount for the month of September entered by the user.	The user must enter at least one original or reported monthly value or an annual value.
October Value**	The reported or original quantity amount for the month of October entered by the user.	The user must enter at least one original or reported monthly value or an annual value.
November Value**	The reported or original quantity amount for the month of November entered by the user.	The user must enter at least one original or reported monthly value or an annual value.
December Value**	The reported or original quantity amount for the month of December entered by the user.	The user must enter at least one original or reported monthly value or an annual value.