USGS Water Resources Discipline

Charleston, WV District office

Katherine Paybins

GIS data and projects

Mission statement

• USGS-- Science in the public interest

• Water Resources Discipline– water resources monitoring and research

• Geographic extent of West Virginia District: West Virginia and some surrounding areas that drain into WV

Recent projects in the WV District

• Bacteria source tracking in the Eastern Panhandle.

• Ground water modeling for 4 study areas along the Ohio river.

• Regional curve analysis of gaging stations.• Effects of mountaintop removal mining on

stream flow in a small basin in southern WV.

Recent projects continued..

• HSPF model parameter estimation and optimization for WVDEP using BASINS (ArcView 3.3, WinHSPF)

• Engineering surveys and flood modeling of 4 streams, plus DFIRM development for Putnam County.

• Ground water borehole geophysics and modeling of the Leetown Science Center.

GIS data for Ground water modeling

• Inputs to the groundwater models along the Ohio River, processing of outputs from Visual Modflow.

Data inputs included DRG’s and NED data for the model areas Point Pleasant, Lubeck, Washington Bottom, Parkersburg-Vienna.

Data outputs included calculated flow paths and equipotential isolines, recharge rates, and conductivity across each study area.

GIS used for surface water modeling

• BASINS software from EPA using Arcview 3.3• Canned datasets initially used in a data download

from EPA website• Supplemented analysis with refined DEM with

hydro-correction and current land use• Program produces the UCI file used in HSPF

modeling of surface flows and parameter estimation for 8 CHIA project basins.

GIS data for FEMA project• Putnam county study area, DFIRM production

plus incorporation of 4 new studies.• DFIRM is a GIS of floodplains and floodways;

housed in Access Geodatabases, but also to be available in shapefile, coverage, and MIF formats.

• Process is to scan, vectorize, and code data from existing floodway and FIRM analysis maps– issues include no projection information on the paper maps, and maps at different resolutions, and older studies layered over more current orthophotos.

FEMA GIS continued

• ArcGIS 8.3 used, plus HEC GeoRas extention for the DFIRM and 4 surveys.

• Initial baseline digitized, then cross sections placed and stream distance markers generated automatically.

• The columns of data created automatically in the GeoRas model are very different from the colums of data required in the DFIRM.

GIS data development• Department of Interior High Priority project• Targets data needs of DOI agencies• 3 years of funding to the present time have gone

towards the remapping of basic information (cultural features) and elevation update for about 45 1:24,000 maps in southern West Virginia. Project includes higher resolution DRG’s and 10 meter DEMs for the same quads.

• Future DOI initiative funding going towards the development of digital National Map data for West Virginia

FY04 and beyond

• Possibly creating another countywide DFIRM for WV.

• Ongoing support of a variety of surface and ground water projects.