This is a coverage of the boundaries and codes used for the
U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA)
Program Study-Unit investigations in the conterminous United
States, excluding the High Plains Regional Ground-Water Study.
The data set represents the areas to be studied during the second cycle
of the NAWQA Program, from 2001-2012 ("cycle 2").
The National Water-Quality Assessment Program is a primary source for long-term, nationwide information on the quality of streams, ground water, and aquatic ecosystems (Gilliom and others, 2001). The goals of NAWQA are to assess the status and trends in the quality of the Nation's ground- and surface-water resources and to provide a sound understanding of the natural and human factors that affect the quality of these resources (Leahy and others, 1990). Study Units are defined by major river basins and aquifers across the Nation (Gilliom and others, 2001). This coverage contains the boundaries for the Study Units within the conterminous United States (excluding the High Plains Regional Ground Water-Study) that were defined for cycle 2 of NAWQA. During cycle 1 of NAWQA (1991-2001), 51 studies actually were undertaken (49 in the conterminous U.S. excluding the High Plains Regional Ground Water Study and one each in Alaska and Hawaii), and 8 were not scheduled. The boundaries and codes for cycle 1 Study Units in the conterminous U.S. are maintained in a separate data set (NAWQACYC1). That coverage depicts 57 Study Units: 49 actually studied and 8 not scheduled. The second cycle of NAWQA (2001-2012) adjusted its scope to 42 of these important river basins and aquifer systems to accommodate budget reductions. Cycle 2 began with 14 Study Units in 2001. This coverage (NAWQACYC2) depicts the 42 Study Units defined for cycle 2 excluding the High Plains Regional Ground Water Study. Although the boundaries of most Study Units remain the same in cycle 2, TENN (UTEN+LTEN), CCYK (CCPT+YAKI), PODL (POTO+DLMV), and WHMI (WHIT+MIAM) are combinations of two Study Units assessed in the first cycle. The coverage also includes the name, starting date, and NAWQA standard abbreviation of each Study Unit plus various codes to help display the data. This data set is used primarily to display the location of NAWQA Study Units and for analysis of data at the national scale. It is not recommended for either local or regional analysis due to the small scale of most of the features. For use with the GEOSTAC database, this data set has been compiled in order to simplify pesticide risk assessment and to provide a common data set for interested parties.
This coverage is composed of linear features at various scales (for example, 1:100,000, 1:250,000), but the majority remain at the 1:2,000,000 scale. The coverage is reviewed by one of the NAWQA National Synthesis GIS staff members prior to release. The High Plains Regional Ground-Water Study (1999-2004) boundary is in a separate data set. References Gilliom, R.J., Alley, W.M., and Gurtz, M.E., 1995, Design of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program--Occurrence and distribution of water-quality conditions: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1112, U.S. Geological Survey, Sacramento, California, 33 p. Available through the internet at <URL:http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/circ/circ1112/>. Gilliom, R.J., Hamilton, P.A., and Miller, T.L., 2001, The National Water-Quality Assessment Program--Entering a new decade of investigations: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 071-01. Available through the internet at <URL:http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/FS/fs-071-01/pdf/fs07101.pdf> Leahy, P.P., Rosenshein, J.S., and Knopman, D.S., 1990, Implementation plan for the National Water-Quality Assessment Program: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 90-174. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, 10 p. Leahy, P.P. and Thompson, T.H., 1994, National Water-Quality Assessment Program: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 94-70, 4 p. Available through the internet at <URL:http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/NAWQA.OFR94-70.html>.
Current as of publication date.
Accuracy is good at 1:2,000,000 or smaller in most cases. The Study-Unit source maps come from various sources and scales.
897 B Harrison St SE
See Entity_Attribute_Information
Where present, is described with each attribute defined in the Entity and Attribute Section.
The data set was checked for topological consistency using the Arc/INFO commands BUILD and LABELERRORS. The NAWQA polygon attribute is no longer consecutive because of study units that have merged (e.g. WHIT and MIAM) and study units that have been deleted.
The data set contains NAWQA boundaries (excluding HPGW) for the conterminous United States.
Cycle 1 NAWQA Study-Unit boundaries and feature attributes that served as the initial source of the cycle 2 NAWQA Study-Unit boundaries and attributes.
1. Made a copy of the source coverage "NAWQACYC1" (description above) 2. Dissolved boundaries between: -WHIT and MIAM to create new merged Study Unit, WHMI -LTEN and UTEN to create new merged Study Unit, TENN 3. Added and populated polygon attributes, NEWSUID and NEWGROUP
1. Updated line attributes to reflect the 3 new groups of study units.
1. Updated several full Study Units names and abbreviations. 2. Added and populated arc attribute, GXBND , to uniquely identify LSUS (only Study Unit with selective surface-water monitoring) 3. Coded NEWGROUP = 'X' for LSUS polygon.
Replaced SOCA's (formerly SANA) boundary with new boundary provided by JoAnn Gronberg. The Study Unit has been extended in the northern section.
Revised the polygon attribute table and arc attribute table to more closely match those of NAWQACYC1 coverage. Original items in interim cycle 2 coverage .pat file: >NAWQA 4 4 I - >NAME 50 50 C - >NEWSUID 4 4 C - ABBV2 >NEWGROUP 2 2 C - Y42 >GROUP 2 2 I - >PILOT 1 1 I - >SUID 4 4 C - >INTL 1 1 I - >MI2 4 10 F 0 >REGION 1 1 C - Revised items in cycle 2 coverage .pat file: >NAWQA 4 4 I - >NAME 50 50 C - >GROUP 2 2 I - >SUID 4 4 C - ABBV >INTL 1 1 I - >MI2 4 10 F 0 >REGION 1 1 C - Original items in interim cycle 2 coverage .aat file: >USBND 1 1 I - >INTL 1 1 I - CANADA >SUBND 1 1 I - >G1BND 1 1 I - >G4BND 1 1 I - >G7BND 1 1 I - >G9BND 1 1 I - >GXBND 1 1 I - Revised items in cycle 2 coverage .aat file: >USBND 1 1 I - >INTL 1 1 I - >SUBND 1 1 I - >G1BND 1 1 I - >G2BND 1 1 I - >G3BND 1 1 I - >G4BND 1 1 I - Changed values of NAWQA groups from 01, 04, 07, 09, and X to: 1 (group 1 scheduled to be studied 2001-05), 2 (group 2 scheduled to be studied 2004-08), 3 (group 3 scheduled to be studied 2007-2011), and 4 (group 4 studied during cycle 1 but discontinued for study during cycle 2 of NAWQA - ALMN, KANA, LSUS, NROK, REDN). Deleted Study Units never studied during cycle 1 and discontinued for cycle 2: CHEY, KNTY, MARK, NPLT, SHPL, UARK. Coded annotation $level to match Study Unit group.
Revised names to match those in USGS Fact Sheet 071-01.
Removed study units assessed during cycle 1 but discontinued during cycle 2: ALMN, KANA, LSUS, NROK, REDN. Removed group 4 attributes - deleted G4BND item from .aat and deleted annotation. Removed 14 pseudo nodes.
Calculated cover-id equal to cover# - 1.
Converted data set to geodatabase feature class file format.
Projected data set to NAD 83 Albers Equal Area.
Dataset copied.
Feature geometry.
ESRI
Flag for group 2 boundaries
NAWQA
1=group 2 boundary; 0=not group 2 boundary
User assigned
Internal feature number.
ESRI
Length of feature in internal units.
ESRI
Area of feature in internal units squared.
ESRI
Internal feature number.
ESRI
Feature geometry.
ESRI
Area of feature in internal units squared.
ESRI
Perimeter of feature in internal units.
ESRI
n/a
GIS software
Internal feature number.
ESRI
Loosely based on WRD region. Values 1-57 are NAWQA Study Units. 0 is not a NAWQA Study Unit.
User assigned
User-defined feature number.
ESRI
See table 1.
User assigned
Code for starting date of Study Unit
NAWQA program
1= to be studied 2001-05; 2= to be studied 2004-08; 3= to be studied 2007-2011; 0= Not a NAWQA Study Unit.
User assigned
4-letter abbreviation for Study Unit
NAWQA program
See Entity_and_Attribute_Overview
User assigned
Flags polygons in Canada (PUGT,CONN) or Mexico (CAZB)
NAWQA
1=in Canada or Mexico; 0=not in Canada or Mexico
User assigned
Area of polygon in square miles
NAWQA
AREA * .0000003861
User assigned
USGS water-resources administrative region
USGS
USGS Water Resources Division administrative region: N=northeastern; S=southeastern; C=central; W=western
User assigned
There are two attribute files associated with this coverage. An arc attribute table (.AAT): >DATAFILE NAME: NAWQACYC2.AAT > 9 ITEMS: STARTING IN POSITION 1 > COL ITEM NAME WDTH OPUT TYP N.DEC > 01 FNODE# 4 5 B - > 05 TNODE# 4 5 B - > 09 LPOLY# 4 5 B - > 13 RPOLY# 4 5 B - > 17 LENGTH 4 12 F 3 > 21 NAWQACYC2# 4 5 B - > 25 NAWQACYC2-ID 4 5 B - > 29 USBND 1 1 I - > 30 INTL 1 1 I - > 31 SUBND 1 1 I - > 32 G1BND 1 1 I - > 33 G2BND 1 1 I - > 34 G3BND 1 1 I - where: >arcs representing the boundary of the United States are flagged USBND = 1 >arcs representing Study-Unit boundaries in Canada or Mexico > are flagged INTL = 1 >arcs representing Study-Unit boundaries are flagged SUBND = 1 >arcs representing group 1 Study-Unit boundaries are flagged G1BND = 1 >arcs representing group 2 Study-Unit boundaries are flagged G2BND = 1 >arcs representing group 3 Study-Unit boundaries are flagged G3BND = 1 AND a polygon attribute table (.PAT): >DATAFILE NAME: NAWQACYC2.PAT >11 ITEMS: STARTING IN POSITION 1 >COL ITEM NAME WDTH OPUT TYP N.DEC ALTERNATE NAME > 01 AREA 4 12 F 3 > 05 PERIMETER 4 12 F 3 > 09 NAWQACYC2# 4 5 B - > 13 NAWQACYC2-ID 4 5 B - > 17 NAWQA 4 4 I - > 21 NAME 50 50 C - > 71 GROUP 2 2 I - > 73 SUID 4 4 C - ABBV > 77 INTL 1 1 I - > 78 MI2 4 10 F 0 > 82 REGION 1 1 C - NAWQA is the Study-Unit number, which is a sequential number from 1-57. The numbers originally were based on administrative regions and were in sequence, but are not anymore because of the Study Units that have merged. See table 1. NAME contains the full name of the Study Unit. See table 1. GROUP represents the assessment schedule of Study-Unit investigations: >Group 1 = To be assessed during 2001-2005 >Group 2 = To be assessed during 2004-2008. >Group 3 = To be assessed during 2007-2011. SUID contains the 4-letter abbreviation for the Study Unit. The alternate name is ABBV. See table 1. INTL flags those polygons located in Canada or Mexico. Usually polygons outside of the United States are NOT plotted on national displays of the boundaries. INTL is in both the .AAT and the .PAT and is used primarily for plotting purposes. (USBND, SUBND, G1BND, G2BND, G3BND, and G4BND are in the .AAT and are also used for plotting.) MI2 is the area of an individual polygon in square miles, calculated as MI2 = AREA * .0000003861. To find the area of an entire Study Unit, sum the areas of the individual polygons comprising the Study Unit. REGION is the USGS water resources administrative region: >N = Northeast >S = Southeast >C = Central >W = Western Table 1.--NAWQA cycle 2 4-letter abbreviations (SUID), names (NAME), and numbers (NAWQA). > SUID NAME NAWQA NUMBER > ACAD ACADIAN-PONTCHARTRAIN DRAINAGES 28 > ACFB APALACHICOLA-CHATTAHOOCHEE-FLINT RIVER BASINS 22 > ALBE ALBEMARLE-PAMLICO DRAINAGES 19 > CACI CANADIAN-CIMARRON RIVER BASINS 32 > CAZB CENTRAL ARIZONA BASINS 49 > CCYK CENTRAL COLUMBIA PLATEAU-YAKIMA RIVER BASIN 50 > CNBR CENTRAL NEBRASKA BASINS 35 > CONN CONNECTICUT, HOUSATONIC, AND THAMES RIVER BASINS 2 > DELR DELAWARE RIVER BASIN 5 > EIWA EASTERN IOWA BASINS 30 > GAFL GEORGIA-FLORIDA COASTAL PLAIN DRAINAGES 23 > GRSL GREAT SALT LAKE BASINS 47 > HDSN HUDSON RIVER BASIN 3 > KANS KANSAS RIVER BASIN 36 > LERI LAKE ERIE-LAKE ST. CLAIR DRAINAGES 11 > LINJ LONG ISLAND-NEW JERSEY COASTAL DRAINAGES 4 > LIRB LOWER ILLINOIS RIVER BASIN 15 > MISE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT 27 > MOBL MOBILE RIVER BASIN 26 > NECB NEW ENGLAND COASTAL BASINS 1 > NVBR NEVADA BASIN AND RANGE 55 > OZRK OZARK PLATEAUS 31 > PODL POTOMAC RIVER BASIN & DELMARVA PENINSULA 8 > PUGT PUGET SOUND DRAINAGES 52 > RIOG RIO GRANDE VALLEY 45 > SACR SACRAMENTO RIVER BASIN 54 > SANJ SAN JOAQUIN-TULARE RIVER BASINS 56 > SANT SANTEE RIVER BASIN AND COASTAL DRAINAGES 21 > SCTX SOUTH-CENTRAL TEXAS 34 > SOCA SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COASTAL DRAINAGES 57 > SOFL SOUTHERN FLORIDA DRAINAGES 24 > SPLT SOUTH PLATTE RIVER BASIN 40 > TENN TENNESSEE RIVER BASIN 29 > TRIN TRINITY RIVER BASIN 33 > UCOL UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN 44 > UIRB UPPER ILLINOIS RIVER BASIN 14 > UMIS UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN 17 > USNK UPPER SNAKE RIVER BASIN 48 > WHMI WHITE, GREAT & LITTLE MIAMI RIVER BASINS 13 > WILL WILLAMETTE BASIN 53 > WMIC WESTERN LAKE MICHIGAN DRAINAGES 16 > YELL YELLOWSTONE RIVER BASIN 43 >--------------------------------------------------------------------- > High Plains (not included in this data set) >--------------------------------------------------------------------- > HPGW HIGH PLAINS REGIONAL GROUND WATER STUDY -- The coverage also contains annotation showing the 4-letter Study-Unit abbreviations. Annotation codes: >$level = 1 (group 1 abbreviations) >$level = 2 (group 2 abbreviations) >$level = 3 (group 3 abbreviations)
Not Available
1500 Research Parkway, Suite B223
None
Data can be downloaded from www.geostac.org with a registered user ID and password provided by the Spatial Sciences Laboratory.
Not Applicable
897-B Harrison Street, SE