USGS National Hydrography Dataset Newsletter

Transcription

1 USGS National Hydrography Dataset Newsletter Vol. 16, No. 8, August 2017 USGS Hydrography Team Changes Semi-Automated Method for Updating the WBD - MatSu Basin, Alaska NHD/NHDPlus Featured at EPA Technical Workshop Official Release of HEM Tool for ArcGIS 10.5 NHDPlus HR Pre-Processing status for WBD Update on Markup Application Many Thanks to Paul and Elizabeth! Paul Kimsey Elizabeth Stevens-Klein Welcome Back, Ray! NHDPlus High Resolution Update NHDPlus HR Availability NHDPlus HR Ingredient Dataset Status - Network Improvement Project Hydrography Photo of the Month Hydrography Quiz Upcoming USGS Hydrography Calls, Trainings, and Meetings USGS Hydrography Team Changes The USGS Hydrography Team is very sad to see two outstanding individuals leave the program this month Paul Kimsey (Aug 1) and Elizabeth Stevens-Klein (Aug 16). Both will be missed tremendously by their colleagues, stewards, and users. Please see the article below with goodbyes from Paul and Elizabeth, and we ve asked folks at USGS who know them best to share a few thoughts. Thank you to both Paul and Elizabeth for your dedication, professionalism, and enthusiasm! But when one door closes, another opens. We d like to welcome Ray Postolovski (rpostolovski@usgs.gov) to the group! Ray will be stepping into Paul s shoes to run the NHD/WBD Partnership Support Section at the USGS National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC). This group includes the NHD and WBD POCs who provide technical assistance and manage dataset tools. Welcome, Ray we re all very excited to have your talents and experience as a part of the Hydrography Team. Also, after August 16, Lily Niknami (lniknami@usgs.gov), already a part of the Hydrography Team at USGS, will be facilitating WBD support activities in the Partnership Support Section at NGTOC. The rest of the WBD team will remain unchanged and can be contacted for WBD-specific questions and issues, including Sue Buto (sbuto@usgs.gov), WBD National Team Lead, and Kim Jones (kjones@usgs.gov), WBD National Technical Coordination Lead. - Becci, Al and Sue 1

2 Semi-Automated Method for Updating the WBD - MatSu Basin, Alaska Contacts: Alexander Headman (aheadman@usgs.gov), Sheryl Boyack (sboyack@usgs.gov), Kimberly Jones (kjones@usgs.gov) High resolution elevation datasets, based on lidar or ifsar, are being used to improve the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) and the Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) in Alaska. The State of Alaska is using ifsar to improve the existing 1:63,360-scale hydrography to 1:25,000-scale. A semi-automated approach to redelineating the WBD within the Matanuska-Susitna region (MatSu) was developed by USGS to improve the existing boundaries and to ensure the WBD remains spatially synchronized with the NHD. Hydro conditioned DEM, flow direction, and flow accumulation raster datasets were created from ifsar-based elevation data using Esri ArcHydro Tools and updated NHD. Location map for the Matanuska-Sustina region of Alaska The automated portion of the WBD delineation approach locates an estimated pour point for the existing 1:63,360-scale 12-digit hydrologic units (HU12) by defining the cell with the maximum flow accumulation within the HU12. The estimated pour point locations were reviewed and adjusted where needed to ensure that the pour point was associated with the correct NHD flowline. The WBD standards define rules for crossing double-line hydrologic features such as wide rivers, lakes, ponds and glaciers. Using the automated process and pour points without any additional manipulation resulted in incorrect delineations in these areas. To conform with the WBD standards, a method was developed to impose an artificial wall or dam, breached by a single flow line, across the double line hydrologic feature by digitizing a line perpendicular to the feature and raising the z-values (elevation) of the hydro conditioned DEM under the line. In the case of multiple intersecting flow paths, like those found in areas of complex channels, the breach flowline was selected using Dijkstra s Least Cost Path algorithm. In addition, the flow direction rasters were altered at the walls to force the flow towards the breach. A manual review and update process was used to snap the HU boundary to the NHD at the pour points and to adjust the boundary where the automated process mismatched the NHD delineation or crossed waterbodies. Improvements to the method are needed to synchronize the boundaries between processing units. National Hydrography Dataset Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 8, August

3 HU delineations before walls Development of walls HU delineations after walls The method developed for the MatSu allows WBD updates to be completed with less time and resources than previously required in areas where more accurate base data is available. The semi-automated processed data, as a whole, are more accurate than data developed using standard heads-up digitizing methods. The updated NHD and WBD will be used in a pilot project to develop NHDPlus HR for the MatSu. Work on this pilot project will begin soon. NHD/NHDPlus Featured at EPA Technical Workshop Contact: Tatyana Dimascio (tdimascio@usgs.gov) and Tommy Dewald (dewald.tommy@epa.gov) Through a cooperative agreement with the Environmental Law Institute, the EPA Office of Water convened a training workshop, the Technical Workshop for Water Quality Assessment Tracking, the first week of June, State, tribal, and territorial staff from Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 303(d) Listing and Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Programs, along with their EPA counterparts, discussed opportunities and approaches for addressing water quality and program challenges in preparation for the new electronic system for tracking listing and TMDL decisions. Over 100 data management coordinators from nearly all 50 states and territories and all 10 EPA Regions attended the workshop to learn about contacts and tools necessary to manage water quality assessment decisions data, including geospatial data. Tatyana DiMascio (USGS) and Tommy Dewald (EPA) gave a joint presentation to technical staff from state water quality agencies about the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) and NHDPlus, and their relevance for water quality assessment and reporting. NHD and NHDPlus were featured at the training because they provide the geospatial hydrologic framework for the water quality data. Attendee feedback was very positive as they learned about geospatial resources and tools provided by USGS and EPA. A copy of the presentation can be found here: 25.pdf National Hydrography Dataset Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 8, August

4 Official Release of HEM Tool for ArcGIS 10.5 Contact: Michael Tinker HEM for ArcGIS is officially released! This release is a direct upgrade from version 2.8 for ArcGIS with no enhancements or other bug fixes to the tool. The Hydrography Event Management (HEM) Tool provides full functionality for adding, editing, and tracking events indexed to the NHD. Events are data like sample point locations and measurements or fish presence/absence that are linked to the NHD by the ReachCode and measure of the NHDFlowlines. The ability to link information to the NHD is central to the NHD model. The HEM tool can index point and line events to NHD flowlines and polygonal area events to NHD waterbodies. HEM events utilize the NHD schema and follow the NHD metadata model, so event history and edits can be tracked. The tool also provides network measuring capabilities to determine distances through the NHDFlowline network. HEM for Arc 10.5, and all previous versions of HEM, can be downloaded from the Hydrographic Data Community HEM Tools page at For access to the HDC site, please contact Lily Niknami (lniknami@usgs.gov). The latest version of HEM is always available on the USGS Hydrography website at NHDPlus HR Pre-Processing status for WBD Contacts: Susan Buto (sbuto@usgs.gov) and Kimberly Jones (kjones@usgs.gov) The new Minor vs Major WBD HU4 editing workflow was successfully implemented in Hydrologic Region 03 in preparation for the Region 03 NHDPlus HR Beta production. Major edits are still being coordinated with stewards in Region 03, however all minor edits have been implemented enabling the NHD production team to start Region 03 network improvements on time in the majority of the Region 03 HU4s. Region 01 is currently in work using the new workflow in preparation for Region 01 NHDPlus HR refresh production. Region 17 work began in early August in preparation for the Region 17 NHDPlus HR Beta product. Please see the June 2017 newsletter for more information about the new WBD HU4 editing workflow. Update on Markup Application Contact: Tatyana DiMascio (tdimascio@usgs.gov) The USGS is preparing to release the new Markup web application for communicating suggested edits for NHD, NHDPlus HR, and WBD. The release of the web application will be accompanied by the limited release of the ArcGIS desktop add-on Markup Reviewer tool. This tool is intended for state and USGS editors to query National Hydrography Dataset Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 8, August

5 markups submitted through the web application and to change the validation/editing status for each markup. The Markup web application completed a round of User Acceptance testing in July. The testing results will be considered for the last set of changes and improvements prior to the official application release. The desktop add-on tool has been finalized and is ready for release once the web application is ready. For any questions, please contact Tatyana DiMascio at tdimascio@usgs.gov. Many Thanks to Paul and Elizabeth! Paul Kimsey From the Partnership Support Team at USGS: How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard - Winnie the Pooh After 37 years of service, Paul Kimsey, Partner Support Section Chief at the USGS National Geospatial Technical Operations Center has retired! Paul was with USGS since 1980, starting right out of high school. He has been part of the village that has raised NHD from infancy into adulthood. For 16 years, Paul focused his career on creating and managing the NHD. He and Hank Nelson traveled the western states teaching manual methods for maintaining the NHD data to prospective stewards. Paul was part of the small team that built the foundations for the current stewardship programs for NHD and WBD. He steered the group to develop the current NHD Update software from the manual methods as a product lead. In 2007, he celebrated the accomplishment of a seamless, high-resolution, national NHD and in 2013 celebrated the integration of the WBD. In 2009, Paul was selected as the Partner Support Section Chief and led that team until his retirement. Despite his administrative duties, Paul has never shied away from getting into the weeds. He has provided one-on-one technical support to NHD partners and in-house staff, and has consistently tried to better the NHD process. He has been an invaluable source of knowledge for his team and the NHD community. We will miss Paul, but we are excited for his new chapter ahead and congratulate him on a well-earned retirement! From Paul: My Colleagues, It is with both a lite heart and heavy heart that I bid you all farewell. After 36+ years with the USGS I am ready to move on to enjoy retirement. In my 15+ years in NHD I think we have made great strides and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with all of you. National Hydrography Dataset Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 8, August

6 Projects around the house, travel and golf are just a few of my future endeavors. I am leaving you in good hands with Ray Postolovski and I am sure that if I check in down the road I will get to hear all the great things that have happened with EleHydro! Elizabeth Stevens-Klein From the WBD Team at USGS: The WBD team would like to sincerely thank Elizabeth for all her hard work, patience, and perseverance during her time with us. Elizabeth was not only an asset but a genuine pleasure to work with during her tenure as the USGS Point of Contact for WBD. After joining the team in late 2015, Elizabeth quickly learned the details of WBD and became indispensable to our team, our partners, and to the rest of the Hydrography Team at USGS. We are genuinely sorry to see her go and we sincerely wish her all the best in her future endeavors. From Elizabeth: The decision has not been an easy one and it is with sadness that I must inform you that I will be stepping out of the USGS NGTOC WBD POC role and taking a hiatus from my career to support my family in their time of need. August 16th was my last day. It has been such a pleasure working with all of you individually and being part of such a great program that continues to evolve with the help and input of so many amazing people. I know this is an unexpected message, as these types of messages usually are, so please let Sue or Kim know if you have any questions/concerns, and again, we will be sure to communicate with you as resources are rebalanced. I m looking forward to setting you all up for success! Welcome Back, Ray! We would like to welcome Ray Postolovski back to the hydrography team as the new NGTOC Partner Support Section Chief. Ray has 26 years of combined private sector and federal government geospatial experience. Before joining the USGS, Ray worked in the geospatial industry helping government agencies build, grow, and capitalize on their geospatial programs. He began his federal career with the USGS in 2009 when he joined the Partner Support team as a NHD POC. He fostered and supported strategic relationships with state and local agencies interested in data stewardship, applications, and maintenance activities. Before returning to the hydro program, he helped NGTOC streamline the US Topo program by leading the map production unit and later overseeing the research and development of emerging technologies to deliver our mapping products. National Hydrography Dataset Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 8, August

7 Ray received his Bachelor of Science in Cartography from Ohio University. He is a GIS Professional (GISP) and received his certification in For fun, Ray likes to get outdoors to ski, bike, golf, and travel. His wanderlust has taken him to 27 countries...so far! NHDPlus High Resolution Update NHDPlus HR Availability Contact: Ariel Doumbouya (atdoumbouya@usgs.gov), Ellen Finelli (elfinelli@usgs.gov) Region 10 is available! Check it out at The map below provides a general overview of the NHDPlus HR Beta production process. Status maps are updated frequently on the Where is NHDPlus HR Available? section of the NHDPlus HR webpage. Blue areas - NHDPlus HR Beta is currently available and review/qc may be in progress. Visit the NHDPlus HR Beta review/qc section of the NHDPlus HR webpage for more information. Yellow areas - The NHDPlus HR is in production and review/qc will be in progress soon. The USGS is seeking volunteers for the NHDPlus HR Beta review/qc for these areas. Visit the NHDPlus HR Beta review/qc section of the NHDPlus HR webpage for more information. Green areas - NHDPlus HR Beta will be produced at a later date. Red outlines - These areas are closed to NHD and WBD editing. Please contact your NHD or WBD POC for more information. Please contact your USGS NHD Regional Point of Contact or USGS National Map Liaison if you have questions about the status of your regional area or state. National Hydrography Dataset Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 8, August

8 NHDPlus HR Ingredient Dataset Status - Network Improvement Project Contact: Hannah Boggs (hboggs@usgs.gov) The Network Improvement Project is identifying and correcting network and data quality issues in the NHD High Resolution. One of the key drivers for this work is to provide data ready for the production of NHDPlus HR. Coordination with appropriate NHD POCs will begin prior to review. Please Note: For all areas listed below, all new data will go through the QA/QC process as it becomes available. Network Improvement Status as of July 27, 2017: Network Improvement Work Completed Regions 01, 02, 06, 07, 09, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21 and 22 Network Improvement Regions Currently In Work 03, 05, and 11 Subregions 0415, and 1902 Planned Network Improvement Work Region 17 Subregion 1801 Network Improvement Regions Remaining 04 (remainder), 08, 13, 18, 19 (remainder), 20, 21 National Hydrography Dataset Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 8, August

9 Hydrography Photo of the Month This month's photo, taken by Linda Davis, is of the Snake River near Swan Falls in the Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NHD reach code ). We d love to see photos of the hydrology near you or from your travels! Please send submissions to Becci Anderson (rdanderson@usgs.gov). Check out current and past photos at Hydrography Quiz Congratulations to Duane Lund as the first to respond to last month s quiz with the correct answer - the Delaware River! Duane has been a GIS Programmer Analyst at Montana State Library (MSL) for 25+ years. He has had the privilege of being NHD Technical lead for State cooperative with USGS for the first half dozen National Hydrography Dataset Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 8, August

10 years of the NHD high resolution program working with Hank Nelson, USGS. He has since passed that task onto Troy Blandford and Maya Daurio at MSL. He was involved in the creation of the initial 10- and 12-digit hydrologic unit (HU) boundaries with the NRCS and USFS many years back and most recently assisted name edits for 10- and 12-digit HU in Montana and the harmonization with Canada along the Montana-Canada border ( it was great working with Tommy Diep, Canada, and Kimberly Jones, USGS ). In cooperation with the NRCS state office and Cathy Maynard, he uses the 8-digit HUs of the WBD as delivery units for data extracts for NRCS projects including the high resolution NHD features and 40 other datasets. He has used the NHD data for land use mapping, sediment transport and delivery studies. He uses it cartographically for many Montana mapping products and web services and for mapping oil spill restoration along the Yellowstone River. He says, Every day some aspect of the NHD features or WBD features are used; it s hard not to feel its impact on natural resource mapping and knowledge base. And most importantly, he is anxiously anticipating the release of NHDPlus HR for Regions 10 and 17 in Montana! Well, Duane, we re pleased to fulfill your wishes with the release of Region 10 data this month! Congrats also go out to our other respondents: Rick Debbout, Peter Cada, Karl Huber, James Seay, David Straub, Jill Templeton, Karen Adkins, Thomas Denslinger, Phil Rufe, Matt Rehwald, Marc Weber, Jim McDonald, Joanna Wood, Ron Wencl, and Steve Aichele. Bonus riddle: Many of you correctly stated that the Declaration of Independence was adopted at the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. But, the response we sought to this conundrum was a bit less geospatial. Only USGS s very own Phil Rufe and Steve Aichele knew where this was headed - the Declaration of Independence was signed, of course at the bottom! New Quiz (By Lily Niknami and Alex Kaufman): We re headed down south this month to enjoy some real heat Texas style! What hydrographic feature can be used as a dividing line between east and west in the Lone Star State? Send your answers with an subject including the phrase Hydro Quiz to Becci Anderson (rdanderson@usgs.gov). Happy hydro hunting! National Hydrography Dataset Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 8, August

11 Upcoming USGS Hydrography Calls, Trainings, and Meetings Date Time Event Aug 22 1:00 pm ET NHD/WBD Advisory Call Aug 24 10:30 am ET NHD Update Tools Training (QC) Part 2 Sep 6 12:00 pm ET NED Technical Exchange Meeting (TEM) Sep 7 10:30 am ET NHD Basics Training Sep 14 10:30 am ET NHD Update Tools Training (editing) Part 1 Sep 28 10:30 am ET NHD Update Tools Training (QC) Part 2 To be added to the NHD/WBD Advisory Call list, please contact Becci Anderson (rdanderson@usgs.gov). For more information on technical exchange meetings and trainings, please see the Hydrographic Data Community (HDC) site. For access to the HDC site, please contact Lily Niknami (lniknami@usgs.gov). Thank you to this month s USGS National Hydrography Dataset Newsletter contributors: Alexander Headman, Sheryl Boyack, Kimberly Jones, Tatyana DiMascio, Tommy Dewald, Michael Tinker, Elizabeth Stevens-Klein, Paul Kimsey, Ellen Finelli, Ariel Doumbouya, Lily Niknami, Alex Kaufman, Al Rea, Sue Buto, and Becci Anderson. Join Our Community! For more information, to sign up for the newsletter, or to contribute, please contact Becci Anderson, USGS National Hydrography Co-Lead, at rdanderson@usgs.gov. Visit us anytime at nhd.usgs.gov and follow us on Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. National Hydrography Dataset Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 8, August