U S Geological Survey Streamflow data in Michigan

U. S. Geological Survey Streamflow data in Michigan Shiawassee River Water Trail Coalition March 22, 2018 Tom Weaver Eastern Hydrologic Data Chief Upper Midwest Water Science Center

In Michigan, USGS operates the following “gage” sites to monitor hydrologic conditions including streamflow, surface water and groundwater levels, and water quality. In February 2018, the network included: 166 real time continuous-record streamgages 10 crest-stage gages (CSG), including 5 real time 10 continuous-record lake-level gages 11 miscellaneous streamflow sites 32 continuous-record water-quality sites 24 groundwater wells, including 6 USGS real time Climate Response Network sites

Types of “gages” Stilling well. Intakes to stream provide a “still” water surface inside the well, float rides on surface Outside staff gage indicating water level Wire-weight gage. Weight lowered to water surface

In 2018, most gaging stations are constructed with non-submersible pressure transducers and GOES satellite transmitters.

Accessing the National Water Information System (NWIS) is easy However, data can be viewed more than one way Accessing the data through our local webpage is easy: https: //mi. water. usgs. gov/

It’s easy to expand the interactive map by clicking on it twice. At that point you can easily hover the cursor over the gage of interest as we’ll see.

Optionally, you can actually just go over to the Statewide Streamflow Current Conditions Table, or the other tables and click them instead.

Clicking on the Daily Streamflow Conditions Map again brings you an interactive view: Each colored dot on the map indicates the location of, and streamflow conditions at, a streamgage. Hovering over a dot identifies the streamgage and summary flow conditions, clicking on the dot initiates a pop-up with five tabs brings you to data and the following 5 tabs. Summary tab contents are displayed below.

Forecast data is from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) North Central River Forecast Center (NCRFC)

The Rating tab produces logarithmic diagram of the stage-discharge rating that is currently active at the site. Two clickable links are also included. Stage-discharge relations (ratings) are usually developed from a graphical analysis of current-meter discharge measurements (sometimes called calibrations) made over a range of stages and discharges. Measurements are made on various schedules and for different purposes. Each measurement is carefully made, and undergoes quality assurance review. Frequently, measurements indicate a change in the rating, often due to a change in the streambed or riparian vegetation. Such changes are called shifts; they may indicate a short- or long-term change in the rating for the gage. In normal usage, the measured shifts (or corrections) are applied mathematically to a defined rating. Ratings may be temporarily invalidated and unavailable due to backwater conditions caused by ice, tides, or other variable physical obstructions. The tables being provided are shift corrected, incorporating the mathematical adjustments for ease of use by the recreational user. The shift adjustments are applied to the individual ratings as measured data becomes available, resulting in an adjusted rating. Some ratings may change as often as weekly, others may not change for months. The Shift-adjusted rating table is the most recently applied shifting in a numerical rating table with increments of 0. 01 feet. Use caution as this is updated with each visit at some sites.

Let’s return to the second option mentioned earlier. This link provides the same options you will get when you access data from https: //waterdata. usgs. gov/nwis/rt

When we select Statewide Streamflow Current Conditions Table, we get all 192 of the publically viewable surface water sites, including streams, lakes, and real time CSG’s: From a list of Grand River Basin streams, site 04113000, Grand River at Lansing is selected

There a number of things to see here. We will explore some of the options in the next few slides:

Discharge parameter for the most recent seven-day period at 04113000 Grand River at Lansing Note: the period of record displayed can be user specified from one day through an entire period of record

The 120 -day discharge hydrograph shows additional information about status of records and also shows measured discharge.

The 120 -day gage-height hydrograph also shows additional information. Only the most recent 120 days of gage height data are available currently. One option here is to subscribe to Water Alert.

Clicking the Summary of all available data for this site tab below is interesting:

The second is a link to the EPA’s Surf your Watershed site.

20 Main Branch Shiawassee R. sites gauged by USGS, but only 5 were continuous-record sites. One of those was continuous temperature & conductance only 04143700 SHIAWASSEE RIVER AT EAGLE RD NEAR DAVISBURG, MI 1966 -01 -24 1968 -03 -05 04143701 SHIAWASSEE RIVER AT RATTALEE ROAD NR DAVISBURG, MI 2006 -09 -11 2010 -10 -12 8 4 04143828 SHIAWASSEE RIVER AT MORRISON ST AT HOLLY, MI 1980 -08 -12 1981 -08 -27 13 04143830 SHIAWASSEE RIVER AT FISH LAKE RD AT HOLLY, MI 1955 -08 -22 2003 -09 -09 40 04143855 SHIAWASSEE RIVER DOWNSTREAM FROM DAM AT FENTON, MI 1980 -08 -12 1981 -08 -27 13 04143860 SHIAWASSEE RIVER AT TORREY ROAD NEAR FENTON, MI 1963 -07 -10 1981 -08 -27 15 04143895 SHIAWASSEE RIVER DOWNSTREAM FROM DAM AT LINDEN, MI 1980 -08 -12 1980 -09 -10 2 04143900 SHIAWASSEE RIVER AT LINDEN, MI 1985 -10 -21 2003 -10 -08 107 04143910 SHIAWASSEE RIVER AT SEYMOUR ROAD NR ARGENTINE, MI 1966 -05 -13 1978 -08 -15 18 04143955 SHIAWASSEE RIVER AT DUFFIELD ROAD NEAR BYRON, MI 1958 -10 -21 1978 -08 -15 4 04144000 SHIAWASSEE RIVER AT BATH ROAD AT BYRON, MI 1983 -10 -12 1 04144020 SHIAWASSEE RIVER AT NEWBURG RD AT NEWBURG, MI 1931 -03 -17 1931 -10 -29 7 04144022 SHIAWASSEE RIVER NEAR SHIAWASSEETOWN, MI 1942 -07 -24 1 04144055 SHIAWASSEE RIVER AT STATE HWY M-71 AT VERNON, MI 1965 -06 -28 1966 -09 -14 8 04144056 SHIAWASSEE RIVER AT GOODALL ROAD NR VERNON, MI 1965 -07 -02 1 04144500 SHIAWASSEE RIVER AT OWOSSO, MI 1942 -03 -17 2018 -03 -12 273 04144520 SHIAWASSEE RIVER AT HENDERSON RD NR HENDERSON, MI 1984 -07 -17 1984 -10 -18 6 04144700 SHIAWASSEE RIVER AT GARY RD NR CHESANING, MI 2006 -06 -30 1 04145000 SHIAWASSEE RIVER NEAR FERGUS, MI 1975 -04 -20 2011 -10 -31 132 04145760 SHIAWASSEE RIVER NEAR SWAN CREEK, MI 1976 -06 -22 1984 -06 -13 6

Here are 11 more sites upstream of Fenton that USGS has measured, primarily on the South Branch. There are 6 additional sites on Buckhorn Creek, North ore Creek, and Marion and Genoa Drain as well. Between Davisburg and Swan Creek on the Shiawassee and it’s tributaries, USGS has measured in 76 locations.

§ The river at the two upstream measurement-only sites at Davisburg are draining an area of <11 square miles while the watershed at the downstream site at Fergus is 637 square miles. § Watershed at the former continuous-record gage at Hogan Road just west of Linden comprises ~84 square miles. § Watershed at the former continuous-record gage at Bath Road at Byron comprises 365 square miles. § The only currently operational USGS streamgage on the Shiawassee River is at Owosso encompassing drainage of 538 square miles. § The gage at Owosso may not always tell you much about what’s happening in upland parts of the watershed like Holly, Fenton, or Linden.

How would you get a USGS streamgage? § Your group should seek out a governmental partner. § The reason is quite simple, USGS often has Cooperative Matching Funds (CMF) available that can help offset installation costs. § Unfortunately, CMF is only available to taxing authorities, Federally recognized tribes, and State colleges and universities. What does a continuous-record streamgage cost to install? § Our installations are a bit site-specific as some sites require different equipment § Stage-only sites require the same equipment as full streamgages § Installations are running $16, 100 -18, 300 with most of the cost for the equipment itself § USGS assumes all “normal” equipment replacement costs

What is the annual operation and maintenance charge for a streamgage? § A stage–only gage is currently $6, 100. A full service streamgage with stage and discharge is currently $15, 700 The costs are high, what does gage operation entail? USGS typically visits new sites quite often until the stage-discharge rating is established for the site and the frequency can be reduced to a normal 6 - to 8 -week rotation. During these visits USGS will QA the gaging equipment and typically will make a physical streamflow measurement, either by wading, if that's possible, or using an acoustic Doppler current profiler if water is too deep to wade. Most of the time used to support gaging operations takes place in an office setting where data are analyzed, quality assured, and hydrologically and statistically compared to similar sites, to ensure that stage and streamflow data are the best that can be collected.

In conclusion, there are several ways to access USGS data. The story the data tells can be very valuable for your next engineering project. Consider using the Water Alert tool if a gage is near your area of interest. Please feel free to contact me at 517887 -8923 or tlweaver@usgs. gov.