Meeting Minutes – TWG Meeting January 10, 2007
IDWR Office – Boise, ID
Via Phone Conference –
No Phone Attendees
The meeting began at approximately 9:15 a.m.
WATERSHED MEETING
Zachary Maillard discussed the "Disconnected Editing" option in ArcInfo with the group. IDWR is in the process of upgrading to version 9.2, but USGS has not, and may not for some time. This would be an issue, because both agencies would need to be upgraded to 9.2 for the check-in/check-out system to work. If the Disconnected Editing (now called "Replication") process would be implemented, IDWR would have the master dataset, and USGS (or any other interested agency) would "check-out" a version, and work on that version. After the edits had been made, the version would be "checked-in", or imported back to the master copy. The master copy checks to verify what has been changed and reconciles that data back into the master database. The process requires SDE on both ends and is version-based, and can use the new SDE-Personal Geodatabase extension. The process would be fairly straightforward, but there would be some time involved in developing a workflow process.
After some discussion, it was decided that a procedure would be established for sharing and updating data without using the "Replication" capabilities, for now. The group worked out a procedure as follows:
·
The master watershed dataset will be kept at IDWR. Genna Ashley will make a new folder each morning and copy the previous day’s geodatabase into it, making an automatic backup copy of the data.·
The new geodatabase will be put on the IDWR ftp site, for Steve Garcia (or any other interested party) to download. Note: This procedure does not have to be daily, but on a very regular schedule whenever linework has been changed. The IDWR geodatabase will be named "WS", followed by a date stamp, i.e., "WS20070110.mdb", and USGS will add the initial of the person who worked on the data (i.e., Steve Garcia), followed by the number of the hydrologic unit that was worked on. For example, the database that comes back from USGS will be named "WS20070110_SG17050115.mdb"·
Changes will be made on a statewide dataset, but work will be completed on a huc-by-huc basis.·
If a 4th field boundary change is EVER made, those changes will IMMEDIATELY be forwarded to IDWR for incorporation, as soon as possible, or vice-versa.
This process will be implemented as soon as reconciliation occurs between the data that Steve Garcia has been working on, and the data that IDWR has been working on. It was discovered that there were some areas of overlap, and those need to be fixed as soon as possible. Steve Garcia will put his most-recent linework on the IDWR ftp site, and Genna Ashley will identify where the differences are, and make sure the correct linework has been incorporated into the master watershed geodatabase. After this has been completed, data will be transferred on a regular basis between agencies to avoid any future duplication of effort.
New data has been received from the Nez Perce National Forest, and Genna Ashley has been working to get it incorporated into the master watershed dataset.
Genna Ashley had a phone conversation with Lewis Wasnewski and Martha Mousel (Caribou Targhee National Forest). They have taken a cursory look at the new watershed linework and were pleased with the results. They will have some time after the New Year, and would like to review the existing linework and provide input. Genna Ashley will provide them a current copy of the dataset (in coverage format) and provide them any assistance they may need to do their review.
HYDROGROPHY DISCUSSION
IDWR applied for the EPA National Environmental Information Exchange Network Grant (NEIEN) in October, and the results will be announced in July or August. This grant would allow IDWR to give NHD changes to the National Dataset, and updates back to IDWR. Minnesota has the same system in place, with updates approximately 3-times per week. Their system does the updates at approximately 2:30 a.m. each morning. The Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has also given support for this effort.
IDWR has been editing statewide NHD data in SDE, via "xml" exports. The data has been retrieved by USGS, and then rejected. The last data was on November 18, 2006. There were some IDWR errors, but those bugs are being worked out, and it is anticipated that an "accepted" copy of the xml export file will be received very soon. The geometry edits have required more work and have included an extensive learning process. The original export program didn’t update with a date stamp, which also resulted in the rejected data. IDWR received a new export file and re-submitted the data again. There have been approximately 9700 modified features, of which 6,000-7,000 were attribute modifications.
The Weiser River Basin has been checked against the IDWR Water Rights database, and GNIS data has been added to give additional name features to the data. The bugs are currently being worked out, and IDWR has been working with the folks at GNIS, who have been extremely helpful, although they have lost staff members who had extensive knowledge. IDWR is waiting to see how these submitted changes will be incorporated into the final dataset, and hoping the xml export will be accepted this time.
The stream names will be attached directly to the streams, not via tables.
IDWR will be taking the NHD data to local Irrigation Companies and asking them to check the canal names and verify. This is in progress with Boise-Kuna Irrigation district, and more will be added soon.
Sandra Thiel attended a NHD meeting in Denver last October, and learned that not many states are submitting changes. The majority of changes have been submitted from private contractors, but not many states. NHD has been very receptive to state feedback, and notification of model changes have been occurring before implementation, which is very good news.
NHD is conducting phone conference calls each Tuesday morning at 11:00 a.m., Mountain Time. Many states have been involved, including Idaho. Sandra attended the call on January 9th, and the subject was adding a Global-unique identifier ("GU-id"), which may ultimately replace the Com-id field. The Com-id is not tracked, and they need something unique and persistent, and the "Gu-id" is randomly identified. A proposal will be written up, and sent out for comments and input. They also discussed shorelines and coastlines, including swamps and marshes. Originally, Kevin Roth did not want to include wetlands data in the NHD, and the group is working out a way to handle these. Sandra Thiel can forward the specific information if requested. Also, f-types are being added for underground streams for topology.
The personal geodatabase version of the NHD data can be downloaded in groups of 5 hucs. If the user needs single hucs, they must be requested individually, or they will be grouped together, up to 5 at a time. Sandra Thiel will send Leigh Bailey the link for the download site.
During the meeting in Denver, the group was talking about adding stream order. Cindy McKay is doing the research on this and will have more information in the future.
No action has been taken on the generalization issue since the last meeting. The general consensus is that is can be done, but nobody has actually done it yet. There are many issues that still need to be resolved to mix data between scales and there is much disconnect between the 100k and 24k level of data.
Sandra Thiel asked if there were any priority hucs to work on, after an accepted copy of the dataset is returned from NHD. Steve Garcia stated that the Payette huc would be a priority, as well as the Twin Falls district.
The NHD data must be validated, and there have been some issues with this on a statewide level. The topo rules have not been enforced, and hucs will need to be validated in groups. Care must also be taken, because validate works like the "clean" command, and problems can arise.
MISCELLANEOUS DISCUSSION
The Watershed TWG group would like to wait and see what data is returned from Karen Hanson’s shop in Utah before making a decision on what to do about the lake/reservoir issue that arose during the phone meeting in December with USGS. Data should be received from USGS in February or March, and the next Watershed meeting will be in May. The group will take a look at the data and determine how extensive the changes have been, and where to go from there.
Linda Davis stated that she could check with the Dam Safety department at IDWR and see if there is good bathymetry data for the northern Idaho/Coeur d’Alene area.
ACTION ITEMS:
Genna Ashley will provide the IDWR ftp address to Steve Garcia so he can post his most-recent copy of the WBD dataset.
Steve Garcia will post his copy of the WBD dataset to the IDWR ftp site.
Data will be posted to the IDWR ftp site on a regular basis for coordination between IDWR and USGS and any other interested agency.
Genna Ashley will identify the differences between the USGS dataset and the IDWR dataset and reconcile the differences.
Genna Ashley will provide Lewis Wasnewski and Martha Mousel the most-recent version of the watershed data, in coverage format.
Sandra Thiel will provide Leigh Bailey the link to the NHD download site, where she can download NHD data in geodatabase format.
Linda Davis will check and see if bathymetry data is available for the Coeur d’Alene area in northern Idaho.
NEXT SCHEDULED TWG MEETING (S):
Wednesday, May 2, 2007 - at the Idaho Department of Water Resources in Boise, ID. The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m.
For directions and/or NetMeeting connections, please contact Genna Ashley at (208) 287-4880 genna.ashley@idwr.idaho.gov
***Subject to change before meeting***
The meeting concluded at approximately 12:00 p.m.