Rice University
Civil
and Environmental Engineering
Hydrology and Floodplain Analysis, Third Edition
Appendix E – Useful Internet Hydrology Links
Appendix E
Hydrology-Related Internet Links
This list
of Web sites was last updated in July 2001, and web addresses sometimes change.
The reader
should also note the availability of proprietary software for hydrologic analysis,
which may be obtained from numerous commercial vendors.
Textbook
http://www.prenhall.com/bedient
Weather
and Meteorology
The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s Web site. Contains useful
weather and climate information, particularly concerning the oceans.
The
National Weather Service provides up-to-date and in-depth forecasts for across
the country.
Intellicast
is a commercial weather site on the Internet. One of the best features is a
Java-enabled NEXRAD radar loop of the nation. Clicking on a region of the
national radar loop will bring up the regional radar loop for that part of the
country.
http://yang.sprl.umich.edu/wxnet
The
University of Michigan’s weather site. Not only is a vast amount of weather
information available from this Web site, but it also contains links to about
300 other weather-related sites.
http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html
The
National Climatic Data Center has a huge weather data archive made available to
the public through this site.
http://www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/climate/index_e.cfm
This Web
site of the Canadian Meteorological Centre, Water and Climate Data, Environment
Canada provides access to statistical summaries, current conditions, and data
archives across Canada.
Unisys’s
site provides forecast data that is designed for the weather professional.
WeatherBug
is a free, downloadable program available from this site. It gives the user
real-time weather information and weather alerts while the user is online.
http://mac1.pn.usbr.gov/agrimet
AgriMet, a
conjunction of the words “agricultural” and “meteorology,” is a satellite-based
network of automated agricultural weather stations operated and maintained by
the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Several kinds of weather data, primarily of
agricultural interest, are available for the Pacific Northwest and Nevada.
GIS Data
The GIS
Data Depot has large amounts of GIS data available for free download.
The USGS
provides GIS data for watersheds. Perhaps most useful is its use of HUCs
(Hydrologic Unit Codes). HUCs are the numeric addresses for watersheds used by
the USGS, and the site allows the user to look up the HUC for a specific
watershed.
The U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service provides GIS data specific to wetlands.
http://terraserver.microsoft.com/
Microsoft’s
Terraserver project contains vast numbers of aerial photographs called DOQs
(Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles). The Terraserver database contains images that
cover nearly the entire globe.
Vieux Inc.
performs mathematical analysis on NEXRAD radar, determines actual amounts of
rainfall over a watershed, and places the data in a format to be used in GIS.
The GIS data allows rainfall to be calculated in watersheds where no rain gages
exist.
General
site explaining what GIS is and some of its capabilities.
ESRI is
the developer of ArcView, one of the most popular GIS viewers available.
http://www.census.gov/ftp/pub/geo/www/tiger
The
TIGER/Line files are a digital database of geographic features, such as roads,
railroads, rivers, lakes, political boundaries, and census statistical
boundaries, covering the entire United States. The database contains
information about these features, such as their location in latitude and
longitude, the name, the type of feature, address ranges for most streets, the
geographic relationship to other features, and other related information. They
are the public product created from the Census Bureau’s TIGER (Topologically
Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing) database of geographic
information.
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/notes.html
Notes and
study materials for GIS and the geographer’s craft.
Dedicated
to making Remote Sensing algorithms, code, and technology available to all
interested parties.
http://www.gisportal.com/index.htm
The
GISPortal is one of the top Web sites for GIS industry information.
http://www.pierssen.com/arcview/arcview.htm
Avenue
scripts, extensions, and other goodies.
National Wetlands
Research Center spatial data and metadata server.
http://nhd.usgs.gov/index.html
The
National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) is a comprehensive set of digital spatial
data that contains information about surface water features such as lakes,
ponds, streams, rivers, springs, and wells.
Better
Assessment Science Integrating point and Nonpoint Sources (BASINS) integrates a
GIS, national watershed data, and state-of-the-art environmental assessment and
modeling tools into one convenient package.
General Hydrology
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency has a Web page called “Surf Your Watershed” that allows the
user to input a location. In return, the EPA provides a map of the watershed,
water quality information, and water use data.
This
portion of the USGS Web site is devoted entirely to hydrology. Real-time and
historic stream flows and gage heights are accessible from here, as well as GIS
data.
This is
the primary national location within the USGS Web site for retrieval of water
data.
http://www.hec.usace.army.mil/
The U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers’ Hydrologic Engineering Center contains numerous
modeling programs available for download, including HEC-HMS and HEC-RAS.
The U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation operates hundreds of dams and waterrelated facilities
throughout the American West. Access to data and information begins at this Web
site.
The
National Weather Service’s Office of Hydrologic Development contains current
stream information as well as information on past flood events.
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hic/hydrolinks.html
This
Hydrologic Information Center of the National Weather Service, Office of
Hydrology site contains many hydrologic links.
The
Natural Resource Conservation Service is a branch of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. It offers information on many things, including soils, wetlands,
and drought conditions.
GMS stands
for Groundwater Modeling System and incorporates a number of groundwater models
in a single package. This site explains GMS and offers free downloads of the
software.
This site
is maintained by consultants who provide support for a variety of hydrologic
tools, including GIS, HEC-HMS, and HEC-RAS.
http://www.wmo.ch/web/homs/hwrphome.html
The World
Metrological Organization contains many international links to water-related
activities.
The U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station (WES) at Vicksburg,
Mississippi, performs research on many aspects of riverine, coastal, and
environmental systems. Some riverine and coastal hydraulics models may be
downloaded beginning at this Web site address.
National
mapping information and links, provided by USGS.
Most
recent Landsat 7 images from all over the world.
Urban Hydrology Links
The Web
site of Computational Hydraulics International provides links, publications,
software, and other products related to stormwater and urban hydrology. CHI
maintains very valuable list-servers (Internet discussion groups) for the
following models: EPANET (a water distribution model), HEC models, HSPF, SWMM,
and WASP (a receiving water quality model).
This
database provides access to best management practice (BMP) performance data in
a standardized format for approximately 100 BMP studies conducted since the
mid-1980s. The database was developed by the Urban Water Resources Research
Council (UWRRC) of ASCE Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI)
under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.stormwatercenter.net/
The
Stormwater Manager’s Resource Center is designed specifically for stormwater
practitioners, local government officials, and others who need technical
assistance on stormwater management issues.
http://www.stormwater-resources.com/
Although
this Web site has a Florida focus, the Stormwater News site provides many links
to related Web sites, publications, conferences, and ongoing stormwater-related
activities. Some publications may be downloaded.
The Texas
Nonpoint Source Book is a Web site designed to provide stormwater management
information to public works officials and other interested parties in Texas and
elsewhere.
Watersheds and the Environment
http://www.riparian.net/about.htm
This
Riparian Net Web site was created to meet the science and management needs of
professionals doing riparian research.
Watershed
Assessment, Tracking and Environmental Results (WATERS) is a tool that unites water
quality information previously available only on individual state agency
homepages and at several U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Web sites. WATERS
links several databases to provide watershed information in a map-based format.
The
Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) of the American Society of
Civil Engineers (ASCE) is an organization devoted to helping professionals in
their water and environmental-related careers.
Local and Regional Hydrology Links
Many Web
sites exist that address the weather or hydrology of a specific region as
opposed to nationwide. A few representative sites have been listed here. While
they may not be pertinent to the area the reader is in, they often contain
links to other geographical regions and are interesting sites in and of
themselves.
This site
was developed by Rice University to warn of possible flooding in Brays Bayou,
flooding that could have serious consequences for not just Rice, but also for
the Texas Medical Center and other parts of downtown Houston. The site offers
real-time NEXRAD radar, rainfall amounts across the watershed, and stream
flows.
http://www.hcoem.co.harris.tx.us/
The Harris
County Office of Emergency Management serves Houston, Texas. Rainfall data can
be plotted from various rain gages, and stream flow and gage height data can be
accessed as well.
Louisiana
State University’s Atlas project provides GIS data for all of the state of
Louisiana.
Florida is
divided into five water management districts. The South Florida Water
Management District is the oldest and largest and includes a massive amount of
information about the water and environment of South Florida and the
Everglades.
The Texas
Natural Resources Information System (TNRIS), a division of the Texas Water
Development Board, is the state’s clearinghouse for natural resources data.
Arkansas-Red
Basin River Forecast Center, provided by NOAA and NWS.
This Web
site of the Northwest River Forecast Center of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration is the starting point for retrieval of current
information about surface water conditions, including river stages and flows,
in the Pacific Northwest.
The Oregon
Climate Service provides downloadable current and archival precipitation and
other weather data for Oregon.
http://www.bpa.gov/index640.htm
The
Bonneville Power Administration provides extensive information on the
management and environmental aspects of the Columbia River and its tributaries.
http://www.nwd.usace.army.mil/
The
Northwest Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers encompasses the
Columbia and Missouri River Basins. A wealth of data and other information
about these watersheds may be obtained, starting at this Web site.
Direct Links to Federal Models and Software
http://www.hec.usace.army.mil/
HEC-HMS,
HEC-RAS, UNET, and other models developed at the Hydrologic Engineering Center
of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can be downloaded or referenced from this
primary Web site.
http://water.usgs.gov/software/surface_water.html
State-of-the-art
statistical software and several simulation models may be downloaded from this
site of the USGS, including software for flood frequency analysis, the HSPF
model, and FEQ (Full Equations Model for river hydraulics). A link to USGS
ground water models and software is provided, from which models such as MODFLOW
may be downloaded.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/hydsoft.htm
Software
for backwater analysis (WSPRO), culvert design, and other highway-related
hydrology and hydraulics software can be downloaded from this Web site of the
Federal Highway Administration.
http://www.ftw.nrcs.usda.gov/tech_tools.html
This
National Resources Conservation Service Web site provides for downloading the
current version of TR-55 (the “SCS model”) for urban areas, as well as other
software.
http://www.epa.gov/ceampubl/softwdos.htm
The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency Center for Exposure Assessment Modeling (CEAM)
distributes several models and software packages for analysis of environmental
data. This Web site provides access to several simulation models, including
HSPF, SWMM (1994 version), and WASP as well as statistical software and various
reports in electronic format.
The most
current version of EPA SWMM is available at this Oregon State University Web
site. The model download is a cooperative version between Oregon State
University and Camp Dresser & McKee, Inc., and is not an “official” EPA
release.
http://hsp.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hrl/rvrmech/fldwav1.htm
The
National Weather Service’s FLDWAV model performs dynamic routing of natural and
dam-break floods in natural rivers. FLDWAV incorporates and replaces the NWS
DWOPER model, and is available at this Web site.
http://hsp.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hrl/hseb.htm
Other
hydrologic software and models developed by the NWS Office of Hydrologic
Development can be accessed from this Web site.
http://www.fema.gov/mit/tsd/FRM_soft.htm
Software
related to floodplain definition is provided or linked as part of the Flood
Hazard Mapping activity of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National
Flood Insurance Program.
Dr.
Bedient uses the book in teaching his courses on surface water hydrology. More
resources, including powerpoint lectures, spreadsheet hydrologic applications,
a course syllabus, and course project information may be found on the course
webpage, and freely used in designing your courses.
Envi 412 - HYDROLOGY AND WATERSHED
ANALYSIS
Envi 512 - HYDROLOGIC DESIGN LAB
Instructor Resources | Errata
| Links | Dr. Bedient’s
Course | Prentice-Hall Book
Website
For more
information, contact Anthony Holder 
