USGS Water Data News

This release includes many important features and bug fixes.

USGS Water Data for the Nation (waterdata.usgs.gov)

• When selecting the option to display a summary of selected sites, the selection of a particular agency code is now honored. (PR 23683)
• Fixed a bug related to graphs of discrete groundwater data. The bug occurred when no activity occurred over the requested period. Now, no graph will appear when the following conditions were noted with the measurement and there are no other valid values to be plotted: frozen, dry, discontinued, obstructed, destroyed, no value is recorded or there is an instrumentation problem. (PR 26665)
• The column headers in HTML tables for field surface water measurements are now linked to their corresponding definition in the help system if there is a definition associated with the column. (PR 28020)
• Symbols used on graphs to show discrete groundwater levels will be larger or smaller depending on the density of data on the graphs. This is to make these measurements easier to see without obscuring other data on the graph. (PR 29911)
• Graphs of groundwater data include a note/disclaimer as follows: "Caution: When viewing a plot with multiple sites, it is important to understand the characteristics of data being plotted. For example, some parameters are measured from a reference point that varies from site to site, such as water-level depth below land surface datum for wells, and gage height for streams. Calculating the difference between values at sites with different altitudes would have limited meaning." (PR 29999)
• There is no longer a slow response when submitting feedback forms, such as "Questions about sites/data?" and "Feedback on this web site". The USGS Answers system is now called directly. An optional field for organization is no longer captured since the USGS Answers system does not support it. (PR 30321) To accommodate a redesign of USGS Answers, the site number is now echoed on the USGS Answers page when users request feedback from a station page. This aids USGS water science center personnel in responding to queries. (PR 31243)
• Dynamic graphs no longer fail when two parameters are requested and the range of data includes February 29 of a leap year. (PR 30753)
• We fixed an issue that appeared only in the Chrome browser that caused column headers to partially obscure the first rows of data in a table on statewide streamflow tables. (PR 30893)
• Fixed issue that caused certain dynamic graphs not to render if there were quote characters in the station names. (PR 30899)
• Fixed issue for graphs of instantaneous data where in certain cases the period of record was misreported, due to a leap year issue. (PR 30911 & PR 30997)
• If there are no parameters selected for current condition sites, the option to show sites on a map will not work. (PR 30995)
• Fixed a problem with site name searching which failed if parentheses were used as search criteria. (PR 31015)
• Some links that incorrectly pointed to old and now removed tutorials for water quality now point to the new help system. (PR 31022)
• Daily, monthly and annual statistics buttons now line up correctly beneath the statistics button. (PR 31207)
• Reverted certain stylistic changes on station pages so that indentation of content was more traditional and HTML tables did not take up the full width of the screen. (PR 31210)
• Fixed issue with filterable tables. On certain tables, filters for a column were actually filtering for content on an adjacent column. (PR 31211)
• Fixed typo, missing space after the word "lakes," on the main page, in the description of water quality data. (PR 30703)
• The following real-time parameter can now be selected:
• 83554 - Nitrate plus nitrite, water, total, tons per day as nitrogen (PR 31245)
• 72205 - Bulk electrical conductance, soil, decisiemens per meter (PR 31293)
• 72125 - Atmospheric water vapor pressure, calculated, kilopascals (PR 31293)
• 72130 - Potential evapotranspiration (PET), calculated by Penman method, millimeters per hour (PR 31293)
• 72159 - Evapotranspiration, millimeters per day (PR 31293)
• 72173 - Wave period, Fourier transformation, seconds (PR 31293)
• 72243 - Discharge, cubic feet per day (PR 31293)
• 99237 - Acoustic Doppler Velocity Meter signal to noise ratio (PR 31293)
• 99238 - Location of Acoustic Doppler Velocity Meter cell end, feet (PR 31293)
• 99968 - Acoustic signal strength, units specified in data descriptor (PR 31293)
• 50292 - Gain control, AVM (PR 31296)
• 70309 - Compaction, sediment, feet (PR 30407)
• 99247 - Lower 90 percent prediction limit for SSC by regression (PCODE 99409), mg/l (PR 31411)
• 99246 - Upper 90 percent prediction limit for SSC by regression (PCODE 99409), mg/l (PR 31411)
• 31720 - Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), count of tagged fish per hour (PR 31434)
• 31725 - Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), count of unique tagged fish per hour
• 31722 - Hybrid asian carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobliis and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix hybrids), count of tagged fish per hour
• 31727 - Hybrid asian carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobliis and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix hybrids), count of unique tagged fish per hour
• 31724 - Shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus), count of tagged fish per hour
• 31729 - Shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus), count of unique tagged fish per hour
• 31721 - Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), count of tagged fish per hour
• 31726 - Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), count of unique tagged fish per hour
• 31723 - Sum of bighead, silver and hybrid carp, count of tagged fish per hour
• 31728 - Sum of bighead, silver and hybrid carp, count of unique tagged fish per hour

Help System (help.waterdata.usgs.gov)

• New code definitions including district code, Landnet, altitude datum, altitude method, drainage basin, data reliability code and source of depth code. (PR 20490)
• You can now search for a particular statistics code by name or number, as well as get a list of all statistics codes. (PR 30603)
• The wording for data types has been updated to better define current conditions and recent data. (PR 27791)

Water Web Services (waterservices.usgs.gov)

• The site service now offers a search by site name feature. The service will find sites matching the exact name provided, or a partial name provided. Site searches are case insensitive. You can request that matches be from the start of the site name field, or any part of the site name field. See the site service description for more details.
• The site service no longer accepts time as part of the startDt and endDt URL arguments. (PR 26660)
• Header comments embedded in tab-delimited (RDB) files for the site service now match equivalent queries in the USGS Water Data for the Nation site. (PR 25729)
• The instantaneous value service was not reporting the time zone with each instantaneous value. This has been fixed. (PR 30392)

Mapper (maps.waterdata.usgs.gov)

• Radio buttons that are disabled are less prominent, making it less likely that a user will try to select them. (PR 28119)
• If you search for a site by site number, an error will no longer occur if one or more of the selected sites are not associated with an agency code. (PR 29469) In addition, the selected site(s) are easily distinguished because it is surrounded by a yellow halo. (PR 29633)

This release includes many important features and bug fixes.

USGS Water Data for the Nation (waterdata.usgs.gov)

• When selecting the option to display a summary of selected sites, the selection of a particular agency code is now honored. (PR 23683)
• Fixed a bug related to graphs of discrete groundwater data. The bug occurred when no activity occurred over the requested period. Now, no graph will appear when the following conditions were noted with the measurement and there are no other valid values to be plotted: frozen, dry, discontinued, obstructed, destroyed, no value is recorded or there is an instrumentation problem. (PR 26665)
• The column headers in HTML tables for field surface water measurements are now linked to their corresponding definition in the help system if there is a definition associated with the column. (PR 28020)
• Symbols used on graphs to show discrete groundwater levels will be larger or smaller depending on the density of data on the graphs. This is to make these measurements easier to see without obscuring other data on the graph. (PR 29911)
• Graphs of groundwater data include a note/disclaimer as follows: "Caution: When viewing a plot with multiple sites, it is important to understand the characteristics of data being plotted. For example, some parameters are measured from a reference point that varies from site to site, such as water-level depth below land surface datum for wells, and gage height for streams. Calculating the difference between values at sites with different altitudes would have limited meaning." (PR 29999)
• There is no longer a slow response when submitting feedback forms, such as "Questions about sites/data?" and "Feedback on this web site". The USGS Answers system is now called directly. An optional field for organization is no longer captured since the USGS Answers system does not support it. (PR 30321) To accommodate a redesign of USGS Answers, the site number is now echoed on the USGS Answers page when users request feedback from a station page. This aids USGS water science center personnel in responding to queries. (PR 31243)
• Dynamic graphs no longer fail when two parameters are requested and the range of data includes February 29 of a leap year. (PR 30753)
• We fixed an issue that appeared only in the Chrome browser that caused column headers to partially obscure the first rows of data in a table on statewide streamflow tables. (PR 30893)
• Fixed issue that caused certain dynamic graphs not to render if there were quote characters in the station names. (PR 30899)
• Fixed issue for graphs of instantaneous data where in certain cases the period of record was misreported, due to a leap year issue. (PR 30911 & PR 30997)
• If there are no parameters selected for current condition sites, the option to show sites on a map will not work. (PR 30995)
• Fixed a problem with site name searching which failed if parentheses were used as search criteria. (PR 31015)
• Some links that incorrectly pointed to old and now removed tutorials for water quality now point to the new help system. (PR 31022)
• Daily, monthly and annual statistics buttons now line up correctly beneath the statistics button. (PR 31207)
• Reverted certain stylistic changes on station pages so that indentation of content was more traditional and HTML tables did not take up the full width of the screen. (PR 31210)
• Fixed issue with filterable tables. On certain tables, filters for a column were actually filtering for content on an adjacent column. (PR 31211)
• Fixed typo, missing space after the word "lakes," on the main page, in the description of water quality data. (PR 30703)
• The following real-time parameter can now be selected:
• 83554 - Nitrate plus nitrite, water, total, tons per day as nitrogen (PR 31245)
• 72205 - Bulk electrical conductance, soil, decisiemens per meter (PR 31293)
• 72125 - Atmospheric water vapor pressure, calculated, kilopascals (PR 31293)
• 72130 - Potential evapotranspiration (PET), calculated by Penman method, millimeters per hour (PR 31293)
• 72159 - Evapotranspiration, millimeters per day (PR 31293)
• 72173 - Wave period, Fourier transformation, seconds (PR 31293)
• 72243 - Discharge, cubic feet per day (PR 31293)
• 99237 - Acoustic Doppler Velocity Meter signal to noise ratio (PR 31293)
• 99238 - Location of Acoustic Doppler Velocity Meter cell end, feet (PR 31293)
• 99968 - Acoustic signal strength, units specified in data descriptor (PR 31293)
• 50292 - Gain control, AVM (PR 31296)
• 70309 - Compaction, sediment, feet (PR 30407)
• 99247 - Lower 90 percent prediction limit for SSC by regression (PCODE 99409), mg/l (PR 31411)
• 99246 - Upper 90 percent prediction limit for SSC by regression (PCODE 99409), mg/l (PR 31411)
• 31720 - Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), count of tagged fish per hour (PR 31434)
• 31725 - Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), count of unique tagged fish per hour
• 31722 - Hybrid asian carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobliis and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix hybrids), count of tagged fish per hour
• 31727 - Hybrid asian carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobliis and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix hybrids), count of unique tagged fish per hour
• 31724 - Shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus), count of tagged fish per hour
• 31729 - Shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus), count of unique tagged fish per hour
• 31721 - Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), count of tagged fish per hour
• 31726 - Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), count of unique tagged fish per hour
• 31723 - Sum of bighead, silver and hybrid carp, count of tagged fish per hour
• 31728 - Sum of bighead, silver and hybrid carp, count of unique tagged fish per hour

Help System (help.waterdata.usgs.gov)

• New code definitions including district code, Landnet, altitude datum, altitude method, drainage basin, data reliability code and source of depth code. (PR 20490)
• You can now search for a particular statistics code by name or number, as well as get a list of all statistics codes. (PR 30603)
• The wording for data types has been updated to better define current conditions and recent data. (PR 27791)

Water Web Services (waterservices.usgs.gov)

• The site service now offers a search by site name feature. The service will find sites matching the exact name provided, or a partial name provided. Site searches are case insensitive. You can request that matches be from the start of the site name field, or any part of the site name field. See the site service description for more details.
• The site service no longer accepts time as part of the startDt and endDt URL arguments. (PR 26660)
• Header comments embedded in tab-delimited (RDB) files for the site service now match equivalent queries in the USGS Water Data for the Nation site. (PR 25729)
• The instantaneous value service was not reporting the time zone with each instantaneous value. This has been fixed. (PR 30392)

Mapper (maps.waterdata.usgs.gov)

• Radio buttons that are disabled are less prominent, making it less likely that a user will try to select them. (PR 28119)
• If you search for a site by site number, an error will no longer occur if one or more of the selected sites are not associated with an agency code. (PR 29469) In addition, the selected site(s) are easily distinguished because it is surrounded by a yellow halo. (PR 29633)

We have modified our code to correct the 502 gateway error when using AT&T.  Since this access problem only affected AT&T customers, we suspect that the AT&T proxy server may be stricter on validity of html than other carriers.

System upgrade completed April 14, 2014

USGS Water Services (waterservices.usgs.gov)

• New statistics web service! A new beta statistics web service is available that provides daily, monthly and annual statistics, similar to what is available on the USGS Water Data for the Nation site. Data can be downloaded in a tab-delimited format with more options to come. See the service description or try out the service test tool.
• WaterML2 support. The instantaneous values, daily values and groundwater levels services now support a new output format: WaterML2, which is now an OpenGeospatial Consortium standard. WaterML 1.1 is still the default format for these services.
• The site web service now outputs the hydrologic unit code (huc_cd) by default (PR 30742).
• Service example on home page has been enhanced to allow you to specify a parameter as well as a site number. A bug that was not allowing entry of different site numbers was fixed. The "find sites"  now points to the newest correct URL for the NWIS mapper.
• Product showcase has additional featured products. Some apps were withdrawn and were removed.
• FAQ contains common questions about the new statistics service.
• New contact us link on the menu provides a form for sending us email about our water services. All contact us links now direct requests through the USGS Answers system.

Water Data for the Nation (waterdata.usgs.gov)

Bug fixes

• Daily value retrievals starting prior to 1/1/1851 failed to retrieve any data for the entire period. (PR 26825)
• State-based aggregated water use data, outputted as tab-delimited (RDB) data, now includes the county names and category names in the comments, rather than the codes. (PR 30605)
• Instantaneous data availability link now points to the correct page when data is retrieved from nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov. (PR 30665)

Enhancements

• Tab-delimited (RDB) output for groundwater levels now includes site type cd (site_tp_cd). (PR 28372)

• A more prominent "X" symbol appears on time-series graphs. The "X" indicates the time when a site went down for maintenance. (PR 30645)

• Groundwater level graphs will now show larger symbols when there are no lines on the graph and few measurements. (PR 29911)
• If a gage is ice affected, the most recent value is no longer shown if the measurement is marked as ice affected. (PR 30720)
• The following real-time parameters were enabled for selection: (PR 30690, 30820, 30866, 30787 and 30969)
• 32319   Phycocyanins (cyanobacteria), water, in situ, fluorometric method, excitation at 590 +-15 nm, emission at 685 +-20 nm, micrograms per liter ug/l
• 32320   Chlorophylls, water, in situ, fluorometric method, excitation at 470 +-15 nm, emission at 685 +-20 nm, relative fluorescence units (RFU)
• 32321   Phycocyanins (cyanobacteria), water, in situ, fluorometric method, excitation at 590 +-15 nm, emission at 685 +-20 nm, relative fluorescence units (RFU)
• 99064   Water surface elevation difference between two locations, feet
• 32293   UV fluorescence, water, in situ, single band, 370 nm excitation, 470 nm emission, relative fluorescence units
• 72192   (Precipitation, cumul)
• 99229   Information Temperature #1, Aquatrak, air temperature of the upper sounding well, degrees Celsius
• 99230   Information Temperature #2, Aquatrak, air temperature of the bottom sounding well, degrees Celsius

Mobile USGS Water Data for the Nation (m.waterdata.usgs.gov)

• Better accessibility support. Rather than see a graph, the user can select a link that shows them the data in a table on the USGS Water Data for the Nation site. (PR 30162)

Help System (help.waterdata.usgs.gov)

• There are three new reference lists added: altitude accuracy, altitude method and data reliability. (PR 30616)
• Subscription link corrected. (PR 30806)

We have been notified that the problem that commenced on Feb 19, 2014, with erroneous spikes in graphs and measurements for some real-time sites, has been resolved.

Users may see erroneous spikes in graphs and measurements for real-time sites on waterdata.usgs.gov or waterservices.usgs.gov. The USGS is aware of the problem and is actively working on a solution. We will provide an update when there is new information.

Security Vulnerability Addressed

Due to a security vulnerability, we can not accept the following characters in a URL:
%0D which represents a carriage return and
%0A which represents a line feed.

A recent security measure has made interpretation more strict and can therefore break old bookmarked queries.

Replacing all of the %0D %0A with commas, or correct URL encoding of %2C, fixes the "malformed" URL.

Here is an example of fixing a URL:

• before
• http://waterdata.usgs.gov/tx/nwis/uv?multiple_site_no=303508097525399%0D%0A303443097502700%0D%0A303318097482000%0D%0A303209097473000%0D%0A303439097465000&sort_key=site_no&group_key=NONE&sitefile_output_format=html_table&column_name=agency_cd&column_name=site_no&column_name=station_nm&range_selection=days&period=7&format=gif_default&date_format=YYYY-MM-DD&rdb_compression=file&list_of_search_criteria=multiple_site_no%2Crealtime_parameter_selection

• after
• http://waterdata.usgs.gov/tx/nwis/uv?multiple_site_no=303508097525399%2C303443097502700%2C303318097482000%2C303209097473000%2C303439097465000&sort_key=site_no&group_key=NONE&sitefile_output_format=html_table&column_name=agency_cd&column_name=site_no&column_name=station_nm&range_selection=days&period=7&format=gif_default&date_format=YYYY-MM-DD&rdb_compression=file&list_of_search_criteria=multiple_site_no%2Crealtime_parameter_selection

End of support for Internet Explorer versions 7 or earlier or issues related to Windows XP and earlier versions of Windows

The USGS no longer supports Internet Explorer (IE) 7 or earlier versions of IE on the waterdata.usgs.gov and waterservices.usgs.gov domains. Since the USGS was required to upgrade all of its Windows computers to Windows 7, there is no way to test fixes for these versions of IE. These versions of IE do not work with Windows 7 and later versions of Windows. The USGS cannot troubleshoot issues that appear only on Windows XP or earlier versions of Windows.

Internet Explorer users should consider upgrading their operating system. This will allow them to use a newer version of IE, which we support. To work around IE7 and IE8 quirks, users can use different browsers that work with Windows XP.

Users are encouraged to use the latest version of their browser of choice, as it is less likely that they will notice issues when using this web site. This site is adding useful features that depend on features in newer browsers. Consequently, with newer browsers users should have a more useful user interface and more satisfying experience.

National Water Information System Mapper (maps.waterdata.usgs.gov)

The mapper has been updated to consistently show active and inactive sites across the nation. This change will be rolled out in stages in the coming weeks as USGS water science centers update site status codes.

Previously, wide latitude was given to each USGS water science center to define whether or not a site was active. Now, standardized national criteria are being used.

A site is considered active if:

• it has collected time-series (automated) data within the last 183 days (6 months)
• it has collected discrete (manually collected) data within 397 days (13 months)

If it does not meet these criteria, it is considered inactive.

Some exceptions apply. If a site is flagged by a USGS water science center as discontinued, it will show as inactive. A USGS science center can also flag a new site as active even if it has not collected any data.

Water Data for the Nation (waterdata.usgs.gov)

This release fixed numerous bugs and added some minor enhancements.

• The page which allows users to subscribe and unsubscribe to USGS water data system alerts now works properly again. (PR 30614)
• The same feedback form can no longer be submitted repeatedly. Users may still encounter slow processing of feedback queries. This is due to slowness in the USGS Answers system. Please be patient while your form processes. (PR 30321)
• Daily mean statistics for "leap days" (years in which February 29 occurs) are now shown in graphs. (PR 27780)
• Graphs of instantaneous data where values for today should be on the graph by default now appear. (PR 30538)
• Certain graphs of groundwater were not showing labels for the secondary Y axis. This has been fixed. (PR 30523)
• Fields will appear or disappear in the predefined display bar based on the predefined display wanted. (PR 7640)
• Precipitation counts now correctly include 0.00 precipitation values (PR 28465)
• USGS territories like Northern Mariana Island where no sites exist for certain data categories now show 0 sites instead of ??? (PR 28382)
• New parameter code added: 32318 - Chlorophylls, water, in situ, fluorometric method, excitation at 470 +-15 nm, emission at 685 +-20 nm, micrograms per liter
• Current conditions image is now responsive. Text to its right will move underneath it rather than hide parts of the image. (PR 30409)
• Latitude/longitude box now accepts input when used with groundwater levels searches. (PR 30411)

Mobile USGS Water Data for the Nation (m.waterdata.usgs.gov)

• Fixed a bug on some Android phones which did not return the location of the device

USGS Water Services (waterservices.usgs.gov)

All four web services have been updated to apply the new criteria for identifying sites as active or inactive. You can continue to use the URL argument siteStatus=active or siteStatus=inactive, but the resulting list of sites returned may be different than those provided in the past.

The USGS Water Data for the Nation site (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/) is in the process of resuming normal operations. While the system is fully operational, during the federal shutdown some current conditions sites may have stopped transmitting data. Instrumentation at certain other sites may need maintenance or recalibration by local USGS staff to restore the accuracy of the data served. Affected sites will be restored as quickly as possible. Timing will depend on resources and priorities at each USGS water science center. It may take several days or longer before the quality of the data served is the same as before the federal shutdown.

Questions regarding the operation or quality of data on particular sites should be directed to the local USGS water science center.

Your patience during this period is appreciated.

Due to a lapse in Federal funding, the U.S. Geological Survey must suspend those parts of its data collection and distribution processes requiring human intervention.  However, automated reporting and serving of telemetered data will continue.

Users may note some degradation in the quality and completeness of real-time streamflow and water-quality data from some reporting stations due to the suspension of field calibrations and adjustments, especially as high flows occur, aquatic vegetation becomes dominant, or ice forms in high altitude streams.  The USGS will continue to monitor some performance aspects of its network using a skeleton workforce.

The following parameter codes had their reporting units changed from CFS to ft3/s:

• 00060 - Discharge, cubic feet per second
• 00061 - Discharge, instantaneous, cubic feet per second
• 62856 - Discharge, peak for storm event, cubic feet per second
• 72122 - Discharge, median for storm event, cubic feet per second
• 72123 - Discharge, mean for storm event, cubic feet per second
• 72137 - Discharge, tidally filtered, cubic feet per second

Some changes have been applied since our August 7, 2013 release. These changes were needed to fix issues that were reported by users and/or missed due to the complexity of the release.

Mobile USGS Water Data for the Nation (m.waterdata.usgs.gov)

• The list of known problems has been updated for the mobile site as it receives more testing on different devices. Thanks to all for reporting issues with this beta system.
• We introduced a fix that makes geolocation work for certain older Android devices. If you are experiencing the problem, clear your cache and refresh the page.
• We have noticed usability issues with desktop browsers and the mobile site, particularly with older versions of IE. We do not guarantee the mobile site will work acceptably or at all on desktop browsers. If you are experiencing issues, it tends to work better on desktops in newer versions of Firefox and Chrome.

USGS Water Data for the Nation (waterdata.usgs.gov)

• The map image on the real-time pages for states and the USA, with color dots for current condition sites, no longer shrinks when the browser width shrinks. This fix was needed because individual sites could not be selected from the map accurately when the map image shrunk. The map image is now on top so it should always appear.
• The latitude/longitude data entry box has been fixed. In many cases it would not accept entry of values.
• We now detect mobile browsers and if you have a mobile device we provide a link encouraging you to check out our mobile site.

USGS Water Services (waterservices.usgs.gov)

• The instantaneous and daily values service no longer sends XML data (&format=waterml) and JSON (&format=json) indented with spaces for easy display. By default this unadvertised feature has been turned off. If you need data to be indented add the &indent=on argument to the URL. When used, four spaces will be added to the start of the line for each level of indentation when &indent=on is requested. This feature does not apply to the groundwater levels service or the site service.
• For a few days after the release, the time zone and milliseconds were not added to WaterML and JSON output. This has been fixed.
• The groundwater levels service now supports the argument &format=waterml,1.2, which is consistent with the documentation.
• The groundwater levels service had a bug that duplicated timezone offsets in certain unusual cases. This has been fixed.
• Updated the FAQ to provide guidance on the maximum number of requests that constitute acceptable usage of the service in a shared environment. Usage beyond this guidance may result in being blocked.

Help System (help.waterdata.usgs.gov)

• There is a new tutorial for plotting multiple parameters for a site and plotting multiple sites for a parameter.

This release includes a lot of exciting new features, particularly for those who access USGS Water Data with mobile devices. We have a new beta mobile web site and we have taken big steps to make the main site more mobile-friendly.

Introducing *Beta* Mobile USGS Water Data for the Nation (m.waterdata.usgs.gov)

Mobile traffic now accounts for a quarter of visits on the USGS Water Data for the Nation site. Tablet devices account for about nine percent of visits. To better accommodate mobile and tablet devices, the USGS has created a mobile-friendly water data site designed for smartphones. If your focus is current condition information only, you may find that you will prefer the simplicity of the mobile site to the main site.

Given the large variety of mobile devices and that this is the USGS water community's first effort to create a mobile-friendly site, the site is being released as a beta. This means that you could experience minor to severe usability issues. Older devices are also much more likely to experience serious issues. Use of private browsing may cause issues with sites not appearing. We have created a mobile known problems page that we will keep up to date that discusses common reported problems and any workarounds.

Some notes about this new mobile site:

• Minimally, you need a smart mobile device with a modern web browser that is "app"-friendly.
• The site focuses on showing you current conditions near your mobile device, although you can use the site to find USGS current conditions for water sites across the United States.
• You can save your favorite sites.
• You can easily access to the full USGS Water Data for the Nation site, should you need it, from the menu button.
• While the site is mobile-friendly, the site is not an app, so there is nothing to download or install and it won't appear in your mobile device's store. Just use your mobile web browser and go to m.waterdata.usgs.gov.
• The mobile site is not guaranteed to work acceptably or at all on non-mobile devices. This includes tablets, laptop or desktop computers and many e-Book readers. Older versions of Internet Explorer are especially problematic. When using non-mobile devices, the assigned geographic location may be somewhat approximated if your device lacks a GPS.
• A tutorial is available.

If you have any feedback on how to make the mobile site more friendly, please send us a comment. It is likely that more features will be added in the years ahead.

Water Data for the Nation (waterdata.usgs.gov)

• Better user experience for portable devices. - We have begun a multi-year project to make this site friendlier to all devices with smaller screens, including mobile devices and tablets. This involves updating frequently accessed pages to use the newest web standard (HTML 5) and retrofitting screens so they flow better at smaller screen widths (responsive design). Details:
• If we detect that you are using mobile device, we will give you the option to go to our new mobile site.
• Content resizing
• When your browser's window width is below 770 pixels or 180 pixels, content that would normally appear on the left side of the screen and could only be seen through scrolling horizontally will instead appear beneath the main content of the page. Font sizes shrink a bit as well, so more content can be seen on smaller screens.
• When screen widths are less than 770 pixels, the data category select box shows on a second row.
• Graphs will automatically reduce in size to optimally fit smaller screen widths.
• The predefined displays navigation bar on the station page will move to multiple rows at smaller screen widths.
• Site location map will shrink at smaller screen widths.
• Of minor note:
• Two output formats disappear at smaller screen widths: scroll list of sites and save file of sites for future upload.
• The subscribe for system changes page is responsive.
• Page headers and footers are also responsive. Less commonly used text will disappear as screen width gets smaller.
• The feedback form has been made responsive.
• More usable user interface
• Buttons on top level pages used for principle system navigation have been replaced and made to look more attractive. The buttons use rounded corners, gradients, box shadows, facilitate hover text and are image-less.
• The news banner has been updated to look more attractive and to be more dynamic.
• Tool tips no longer use an image (PR 30146).
• Sorting and filtering of tabular data. Many tables of data can now be sorted on demand and are also dynamically filterable and easier to view. See the tutorial. All lists of sites now use dynamic tables with the exception of predefined displays such as state-wide streamflow tables. Certain groundwater field measurements and water quality samples and results also have the new look. There are many tables of data that still need to be modified, including displays of time series data, and which will be fixed in future releases.
• Sorting tables. Most tables allow you to sort columns in the table in ascending or descending sequence by clicking on the column's header. Click twice to get a descending sort. Holding down the SHIFT key while clicking on column headers allows selecting multiple columns for multi-column sorts.
• Filtering tables. Most tables include a filter row. Type a value in a column of the filter row and the table will automatically filter the content to show only data meeting your filter. You can also use expressions, like <25 to see rows containing less than 25 in the column. If you specify a filter for more than one column, the data is filtered based on both conditions.
• Alternating rows often have different background colors, allowing rows to be more easily distinguished.
• It is usually easier to distinguish a row you want to focus on from adjacent rows by clicking on it. In many tables the row will be highlighted with a yellow background color.
• Certain lesser-used columns will disappear on smaller screens, such as agency code. At very small screen widths the period of record columns will disappear.
• The sorted-by output format for a table of sites has been removed because this functionality is handled with the new dynamic tables.
• The feedback form can hide state-specific text.
• Readability of popups when you hover over help fields has been improved.
• Plot Multiple Sites for a Parameter
• Graphs now support the ability to compare a single parameter for up to three sites. For example, you can compare streamflow for three sites on the same river at the same time to see the impact of flooding on the river at various points. On a station page, select the "Add up to 2 more sites and replot" option by putting the site numbers into the text box next to the graph and then pressing the GO button. Like the Plot Multiple Parameters for a Site option introduced in April, the graphs are dynamic and created in your web browser. You can change periods of focus to get more detail. The feature works for instantaneous and daily values graphs.
• Plot Multiple Parameters for a Site
• Please read the new disclaimer. While it is possible to compare various parameters for a site, in some cases making inferences is error prone. Caution is especially required when selecting parameters that use different vertical datums.
• The feature now correctly plots values between 00:00 and 04:00 (PR 30060, PR 30061).
• Fixed symbology issues with graphs in IE 8 (PR 30199).
• Bugs fixed
• Retrievals by partial aquifer code (ex: ALVM) now work (PR 28412).
• You can unselect all graphs on station pages with one click (PR 28939).
• You can select or unselect all parameters for a site. If all are selected the label will change to "Unselect all xx Available Parameters for this site" (PR 26382)
• Obsolete links to tutorials in old help system now point to the new help system (PR 29764).
• A number of minor accessibility issues were fixed. (PR 28725, 28744)
• We added instructions on how to change your email address for you are subscribed to receive announcements (PR 25202).
• Discrete measurements now appear in tab-separated files for sites in the Pacific (PR 28999).
• If a graph for a site cannot be plotted for logical reasons such as the site number does not exist, the site exists in a state outside of the state with focus, or no data was collected for the period requested, the page will indicate that these sites could not be plotted (PR 29961 and PR 29772).
• Daily summary data links on top-level groundwater and water quality pages no longer point to a daily summary for surface water (PR 28631).
• Daily values graphs for a year now correctly show a year's worth of values (PR 28445).
• Streamflow measurements table now correctly wraps minus sign when negative shift adjustments are displayed (PR 28468).
• When using the "build table" option, the resulting page now shows the correct URL in the bottom left corner of the page (PR 25017).
• Changed incorrect information that suggested a site number could have only 7 numbers. It must have a minimum of 8 numbers. (PR 29773).
• Fixed water quality field/lab sample count on USA water quality page (PR 30007).
• New real-time parameters
• 62610 Groundwater level above NGVD 1929, feet (PR 29850)
• 82632 Area, cross-section FROM RADAR (ft2) (PR 30207)
• 72120 Reservoir storage, total pool, percent of capacity (PR 30235)
• 72121 Reservoir storage, live pool, percent of capacity (PR 30235)
• Site Mapper
• Added control to zoom directly to area near a site (PR 28060)
• When focused on a site using the feature to show a site on a map, you can change the base layer (PR 28924)

National Water Information System Mapper (maps.waterdata.usgs.gov)

• Several updates to layout provide more space for the map view:
• Map navigation tools were moved from a side panel to a toolbar on the map.
• Help and Page Information buttons were moved to the page header.
• Blank margins were removed from around the map view.
• Several changes were made to the map display options:
• Moved Base Map selection below Map Layers because they are changed less frequently (PR 30340).
• Added Principal Aquifers as an optional map layer.
• Site Type is now included in the pop-up information that is displayed when you select a site. (PR 27179).
• Site Type is now included in the list of sites table, which can be sorted by Site Type or any other column heading. (30370)
• Longitude/latitude display was added that indicates position of the map cursor (PR 22245).
• List of sites is now being purged if no sites are found when a map is updated (PR 27909).
• The error message has been improved when more than 2500 sites have been requested (PR 29780).
• Map instructions (Help) were updated to include new and updated features.

Help System (help.waterdata.usgs.gov)

• You can now download parameter codes and parameter codes by group as tab-delimited (RDB) files, similar to the old help system (PR 28549).
• You can now find codes by full or partial parameter name, parameter number, Chemical Abstracts Registry Search Number (CASRN) and EPA Substance Registry Services (SRS), similar to the old help system (PR 28549 and PR 28564).
• If data can be downloaded as a tab-delimited file, it can also be seen on the screen in a fixed-width format, similar to the old help system (PR 28550).
• There is a FAQ for dynamic graphs, which include plotting multiple parameters for a site and plotting multiple sites for a parameter (PR 29188).
• Two new water level method codes were added (PR 29979).
• There is a tutorial for the new mobile site (PR 30159).
• There is a tutorial on the new table sorter

• We have created known problems pages. These pages describe known and persistent problems using USGS Water Data, USGS water services, this help system and the mobile site. Transitory issues, such as network issues or site outages, will appear on the news page.
• Editorial changes were made to the automated retrievals FAQ (PR 24869).
• We clarified that groundwater site numbers have no locational significance beyond representing the best location available at the time the site ID was assigned. (PR 29071).

USGS Water Services (waterservices.usgs.gov)

• Web services on waterservices.usgs.gov have been configured to support Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS). Supporting CORS allows data in these services to be acquired directly through asynchronous browser queries when invoked by browsers that support the CORS specification. In the past, a server-side proxy on the same domain serving the data was required. At this time CORS is supported for all domains using the HTTP GET protocol. The HTTP POST protocol is not supported. By enabling support for CORS the USGS is hoping it will spur the development of Web 2.0 applications using USGS water services. The USGS will be carefully monitoring this feature. It may be further opened up or require developers to apply to allow their domain to use the service.

• Two minor site service bugs were fixed. Now when dataTypeCd=id, all data returned is associated with parameter 00060 (streamflow) only. This is because data originated in the Instantaneous Data Archive, which contains only streamflow data. (PR 28878) Also, parameterCd=all and variable=all now work correctly. Previously they only worked if "all" was in upper case. (PR 29391).
• Fixed two bugs with groundwater levels service. It failed (HTTP 503 error) in the unusual case for sites having the UTC time zone and where daylight savings time was asserted or when the parameter 00000 was requested. (PR 30035 and 30036).

• GZip data compression is available for all services, not just the instantaneous values service. For details on how you can speed up data transfer see the service description for the service you are interested in.

The outage of the GOES-13 satellite that occurred earlier today, which kept USGS Water Data current condition data from being updated, is largely over. Only a few dozen sites, mostly east of the Mississippi River, are still affected.

The GOES-East satellite (GOES-13), one of two satellites used to transmit current conditions, is currently out of service and is being restarted.

At about 11 p.m. eastern time last night the imager and sounder on the GOES-13 satellite started displaying problems. At 6:05 a.m. ET this morning a command was sent to reboot the satellite. The current estimated time for return to service is Thursday, May 23, 2013 in the evening eastern time.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which manages the GOES satellite that the USGS uses, has switched its satellite feed from GOES East to GOES West. Those sites within the footprint of GOES West will be able to send data; those outside the footprint of GOES West, or with an angle that doesn't reach GOES West will not. NOAA will additionally turn on the GOES-14 satellite, but not move it. Since it is further East, more of the missing stations may show up.

We will update this newsfeed when there are significant changes.

USGS Water Data for the Nation (waterdata.usgs.gov)

• New Water Use Data Category. With this release, the USGS is publicly providing a new water use data category. The USGS monitors the use of water across the United States. Aggregated water use data is available both nationally and at the state level. Water use data is available via various data categories (such as public supply) and is aggregated for counties within a state. Note that a Water Use census occurs only every five years and data categories vary with the census year. Data can be displayed in your browser (you can sort by column of interest) or the data can be downloaded in a tab-delimited (RDB) format. For more information see the new Water Use page.
• Mapping interface changes
• You can now see all sites on a statewide stream flow table on a map by pressing the “show sites on a map” button on this page. (PR 27298)
• When you select to see sites on a map using the search interface (sites mapper) the map now appears in a new browser window or tab. (PR 28895)
• The Google Maps disclaimer was removed when you select to see a particular site on a map, as ESRI maps are now being used. (PR 28926)
• The notification sign up page includes instructions for subscribers to whitelist an alternate name for the server that sends notification emails. (PR 28314)
• Help system improvements
• All context sensitive help on waterdata.usgs.gov now retrieves data from the help system (help.waterdata.usgs.gov)
• Help content that missed migration into help.waterdata.usgs.gov in July is now in the new help system.
• Output formats are now documented for instantaneous values. (PR 28297)
• Help system points to authoritative FIPS reference. (PR 29080)
• Help links to groundwater tutorials now points to correct source. (PR 29092, 29240)

• If stream flow is affected by backwater, an explanation is shown on the graph. (PR 28618)
• Site usage is now being tracked by Google Analytics.
• Users may be requested to give feedback on site usability because ForeSee customer satisfaction code has been included.

National Water Information System Mapper (maps.waterdata.usgs.gov)

• Geographic search inputs have been modified to accept a keyboard Enter as well as a mouse selection of the go button.
• The Access Data link for a selected site has been modified to go directly to the data page for instantaneous, daily, water-quality, peaks, and measurements data instead of going to an inventory of all available data for that site. The full inventory list is still available from the specific data page.

USGS Water Services (waterservices.usgs.gov)

• For the groundwater levels web service tab-delimited (RDB) output, if no measurement was possible because the well was dry, then no parameter is associated with the observation, as is true with WaterML output. In addition, the data is no longer erroneously triplicated. (PR 27383).
• Site usage is now being tracked by Google Analytics.
• Users may be requested to give feedback on site usability because ForeSee customer satisfaction code has been included.

Mapper. The functionality of the mapper has been improved.

• Mapping symbols for site types have been improved.
• Modified colors and consistent outside shape provide better visibility on different base maps.
• Unique shape symbols within the outside shape help to identify site types for visually impaired as well as all users.
• Searching for a site by number will detect the site type and activity status and automatically activate display of that site type and status on the map.
• Interaction between the map view and the list of sites has been enhanced.
• Hovering over a site on the list will highlight the site on the map view with a yellow halo.
• Clicking on a site on the list will create a pop-up information panel and pointer to that site on the map view.
• The hover over and clicking features can be used independently to identify and labels sites.
• Instructions have been updated.

Show sites on a map - The output format to show sites on a map that are found during a search has been modified to use ESRI Web Mapping instead of Google Maps. This modification provides consistency with features in the NWIS Mapper, while maintaining and enhancing the functionality of the previous implementation.

Location map - The location map for a site has been modified to use ESRI Web Mapping instead of Google Maps. This modification provides consistency with features in the NWIS Mapper, while maintaining the functionality of the previous implementation.

Parameter code 72204, Barometric pressure, uncorrected, pounds per square inch,  made available for RealTime Display

The USGS frequently hears from the public that the USGS Water Data for the Nation site (waterdata.usgs.gov) should be tailored to show only sites and parameters of personal interest. The idea is that a user would select those sites and parameters that interest them. Then the next time the user visits the site he or she would see information about their sites. The full web site would remain available for those who prefer open browsing of USGS water data.

The USGS apologizes for the inconvenience experienced. This problem is now fixed.

During deployment of our latest release, some members of the public noticed problems displaying graphs of instantaneous values for multiple sites when a period of less than 120 days is requested. The following error message occurs:

Date::Calc::Delta_Days(): not a valid date at /www/htdocs/nwisweb/lib/NwisWeb/Support.pm line 501.

Removing the &period=xx where xx is the number of days from the URL will cause the error to disappear but may show different results than expected. We consider this a serious problem and it will be addressed early during the next workweek.

No other problems have otherwise been noted with the new release, which is proceeding. We apologize for the error and inconvenience while we remedy this problem, and will notify you when it has been corrected.