FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY DOCUMENTATION
VERSION 2006
TITLE: US EPA RIVER REACH FILE 3 (RF3)
Geodataset Name: EPARR3 Geodataset Type: SHAPE Geodataset Feature: LINE
GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
This dataset contains EPA River Reach data for streams, wide rivers, reservoirs, lakes, miscellaneous hydrographic features, and the coastal shorelines for the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
DATA SOURCE(S): United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
SCALE OF ORIGINAL SOURCE MAPS: 1:2,000,000 USGS Cataloging Unit (CU) Boundaries
1:100,000 USGS Digital Line Graph (DLG3)
DATE OF AUTOMATION OR SOURCE: 3/9/98
GEODATASET EXTENT: State of Florida
FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES
Datafile Name: EPARR3.DBF
NAME WIDTH TYPE PRECISION FNODE_ 5 DECIMAL TNODE_ 5 DECIMAL LPOLY_ 5 DECIMAL RPOLY_ 5 DECIMAL LENGTH 18 DECIMAL 5 EPARR3_ 5 DECIMAL EPARR3_ID 5 DECIMAL CU 8 DECIMAL 0 SEG 4 DECIMAL MI 5 CHARACTER UP 11 DECIMAL 0 DOWN 11 DECIMAL 0 RF3RCHID 17 CHARACTER CUA 8 DECIMAL 0 SEGA 4 DECIMAL MIA 5 CHARACTER UPMI 5 CHARACTER RFLAG 1 CHARACTER OWFLAG 1 CHARACTER TFLAG 1 CHARACTER SFLAG 1 CHARACTER REACHTYPE 1 CHARACTER LEVEL 2 DECIMAL JUNC 2 DECIMAL DIVERGENCE 1 DECIMAL USDIR 1 CHARACTER TERMID 5 DECIMAL TRMBLV 1 DECIMAL PNAME 30 CHARACTER PNMCD 11 CHARACTER CNAME 30 CHARACTER OWNAME 30 CHARACTER OWNMCD 11 CHARACTER DSCU 8 DECIMAL 0 DSSEG 4 DECIMAL DSMI 5 CHARACTER CCU 8 DECIMAL 0 CSEG 4 DECIMAL CMI 5 CHARACTER CDIR 1 CHARACTER ULCU 8 DECIMAL 0 ULSEG 4 DECIMAL ULMI 5 CHARACTER URCU 8 DECIMAL 0 URSEG 4 DECIMAL URMI 5 CHARACTER SEGL 6 DECIMAL 2 RFORGFLAG 1 DECIMAL ALTPNMCD 8 DECIMAL 0 ALTOWNMC 8 DECIMAL 0 DLAT 8 DECIMAL 4 DLONG 8 DECIMAL 4 ULAT 8 DECIMAL 4 ULONG 8 DECIMAL 4 MINLAT 8 DECIMAL 4 MINLONG 8 DECIMAL 4 MAXLAT 8 DECIMAL 4 MAXLONG 8 DECIMAL 4 NDLGREC 4 DECIMAL LN1AT2 4 DECIMAL LN2AT2 4 DECIMAL AR1AT2 4 DECIMAL AR1AT4 4 DECIMAL AR2AT2 4 DECIMAL AR2AT4 4 DECIMAL UPDATE1 6 CHARACTER UPDTCD1 8 CHARACTER UPDTSRC1 8 CHARACTER UPDATE2 6 CHARACTER UPDATE3 6 CHARACTER DIVCU 8 DECIMAL 0 DIVSEG 4 DECIMAL DIVMI 5 CHARACTER DLGID 6 DECIMAL DSRF3RCHID 17 CHARACTER CURF3RCHID 17 CHARACTER ULRF3RCHID 17 CHARACTER URRF3RCHID 17 CHARACTER DIVRF3RCHI 17 CHARACTER CODE_PTCHL 1 CHARACTER TEST_PTCHL 2 DECIMAL DESCRIPT 30 CHARACTER
FEATURE ATTRIBUTE ITEM CODES AND VALUES:
CU Hydrologic Catalog Unit; an eight digit code uniquely assigned to
a watershed and defined as a Federal Information Processing
Standard (FIPS) maintained by the USGS.
SEG Segment; a unique four digit number assigned to each new surface
water feature within a given catalog unit. Segment numbers
are assigned serially, starting at 0001, without regard for
the hydrologic order of the segments.
MI Marker Index; assigned to each piece of segments that are
divided by a new tributary. Their segment numbers remain the
same, thus identifying them as once being a single reach. The
new downstream piece receives a marker index of zero. The new
upstream piece receives a marker index which is defined as the
proration or ratio of the distance from the base of the reach
segment to the point of subdivision to the total length of
the reach segment. DO NOT USE THE MARKER INDEX AS AN INDICATOR
OF ACTUAL REACH LENGTH. The only valid use of the Marker
Indicator is as a coding approach that enables the pieces with
in one Segment to be hydrologically ordered.
UP Value for teh IMPEDANCE command in ARC network commands such as
PATH, ALLOCATE, and TOUR. To restrict the network traversal
to upstream only, use IMPEDANCE DOWN UP. TO restrict to downstream
traversal, use IMPEDANCE UP DOWN.
DOWN Value for the IMPEDANCE command in ARC network commands such as
PATH, ALLOCATE, and TOUR. TO restrict the network traversal
to upstream only, use IMPEDANCE DOWN UP. To restrict to
downstream traversal, use IMPEDANCE UP DOWN.
RF3RCHID Unique river reach identifier concatenated from CU, SEG and MI
CUA Cataloging Unit
SEGA Segment number
MIA Marker Index
UPMI Upstream marker index; the marker index associated with the most
upstream end of the reach. The basis of this number is (in
general) the distance measured from the start of the segment
to the upstream end of the instant reach.
RFLAG Routing Flag for transport reaches:
0 = Reach is not a connected reach.
1 = Reach is a connected reach.
OWFLAG OWFLAG Open Water Flag: (valid if RFLAG = 1) (i.e. not set for
isolated lakes)
0 = Reach is not in a lake, reservoir, wide river, bay, or
other open water.
1 = Reach is part of an open water (types A, H, L, M, V, or W).
TFLAG Terminal flag
0 = Reach is not a terminal reach.
1 = Reach is terminal (types T, V, X, or Z)
SFLAG Start flag
0 = Reach is not a start reach.
1 = Reach is a start reach (types E, H, S, X, or Z).
REACHTYPE Reach type code; refers to a onecharacter code which has been
assigned to each reach. These type codes were generated, in
part, from the DLG3 area and line attribute codes. Where DLG
attribute codes appeared to be incorrectly assigned, temporary
code changes were used to allow correct reach typing and to
permit networking to be completed. For example, some lake
shorelines had the DLG3 attribute code indicating that they
were single line streams and, during compilation, the code
would be temporarily changed to correctly indicate a lake
shoreline. The original codes are stored in the DLG3 code
attributes.
A Artificial Lake (RF1/RF2) Reach
C Continental Coastline Reach. A reach which represents a
coastline on the Atlantic, Pacific or Gulf coasts.
F Falls Reach. A reach which is either a waterfall, drop
spillway, or a reach of rapids.
G Great Lakes Shoreline Reach. A reach which represents a
coastline in the Great Lakes.
H Headwater Lake Reach. A headwater reach, identified as a
lake, which has no reaches above it in the reach file.
This type of reach has either one or two reaches
connected to its downstream end.
I Island Shoreline Reach. Identifies a reach whose DLG3
attributes identified it as an island shoreline.
J Braided Stream Envelope. Stream reaches which are around
the perimeter of an unnetworked braided stream system.
L Lake Shoreline Reach. A reach which follows the shoreline
of a lake other than the Great Lakes.
N Isolated Stream Reach. A stream reach not having
navigation links in to other reaches.
O Apparent Limit Reach. A nontransport reach, usually
designated by the DLG attributes as a marsh or wetlands.
P Indefinite or Intermittent Shoreline Reach. A nontransport
reach, usually designated by the DLG attributes as a
shoreline without definite boundaries.
Q Questionable Shoreline Reach. A reach which could be either
an island or another closed area.
R Regular Reach. A reach which has upstream and downstream
reaches connected to it and which is not classified as an
other type of reach.
S Start Reach. A headwater reach which has no reaches above
it in the reach file. This type of reach has either one
or two reaches connected to its downstream end.
T Terminal Reach. A reach downstream of which there is no
other reach (for example, a reach which terminates into
an ocean, a landlocked lake, or the ground). This type
of reach has either one or two reaches connected to its
upstream end.
U Unknown Reach. Reach cannot be classified.
V Open Water Terminal Reach. A reach which is both a
terminal reach and an artificial open water reach.
W WideRiver Shoreline Reach. A reach which identifies
either the Right or Left bank of a wide river.
X Terminal Start Reach. A reach which is both a terminal
reach and a start reach.
Z Terminal Entry Reach. A reach which is both a terminal
reach and an entry reach.
LEVEL Stream level
JUNC The junction code pertaining to the junction at the downstream
end of the instant reach. In the case of a convergent
junction, this is equal to the level of the reach downstream
of the instant reach. For simple junctions (junctions with
one stream flowing into the junction and one stream flowing
out of the junction) and divergent junctions this variable is
assigned the value of zero.
DIVERGENCE A onedigit divergence code which is assigned a value when there
is a divergent junction at either end of a reach. A reach
flowing into a divergent junction is referred to as the
"input reach"; the reach which receives the majority of the
flow from a divergent junction is the "major reach"; and the
reach which receives the minority of the flow from a divergent
junction is the "minor reach".
0 Not part of a divergent junction
1 Input reach where minor reach is downstream left
2 Input reach where minor reach is downstream right
3 Minor reach of a divergence
4 Combination of divergence values 1 and 3
5 Combination of divergence values 2 and 3
6 Major reach of a divergence
7 Combination of divergence values 1 and 6
8 Combination of divergence values 2 and 6
USDIR Upstream direction of main path. Looking upstream, this
attribute specifies which reach (up left or up right) is the
direction of the main network path.
TERMID Terminal stream ID. Each reach within a given terminal stream
system is assigned a 5digit code, unique to that terminal
system. This code can be used to readily identify all reaches
in a given stream system.
TRMBLV The terminal base level: the level of the terminal reach of the
stream system to which the instant reach belongs. Terminal
reaches are assigned levels according to the manner in which
the streams terminate, as follows:
1 Stream outlet is Atlantic, Pacific, or Gulf of Mexico;
2 Stream outlet is one of the Great Lakes, or the Great
Salt Lake;
3 Stream exits from US into Canada or Mexico;
4 Isolated drainage (flows into the ground).
PNAME Primary name. For connected reaches, including open water
reaches, this is a stream name. Each connected shoreline reach
around an open waterbody will bear the name of the stream
which feeds that open waterbody. All reaches of a given stream
have been assigned the same name and the same primary name code.
Other streams having that same name will have different primary
name codes. For example, a Back Creek in Virginia would have a
different PNMCD from any other Back Creek in Virginia or any
other state.
PNMCD Primary name code
CNAME Common Name. Reserved for the storage of alternate names.
OWNAME Open water name. For open water reaches (OWFLAG =1), this is the
name of the lake or wide river in which the reach resides.
OWNMCD Open water name code
DSCU Downstream CU. CU of the reach downstream of the instant reach.
The downstream reach is the reach into which the instant reach
flows, except that if the downstream end of the instant reach
is a divergent junction, then the reach identified as the
downstream reach is the major recipient of the outflow from
the instant reach and the reach identified as the divergent
reach is the recipient of the minor portion of the outflow.
DSSEG Downstream SEG
DSMI Downstream MI
CCU Complement CU. CU of the complement reach. The complement is the
reach that flows into the confluence at the downstream end
of the instant reach.
CSEG Complement SEG
CMI Complement MI
CDIR Complement direction. Looking downstream, this is the left or
right (L or R) side of the instant reach to which the
complement reach is connected.
ULCU Upstream left CU. CU of the reach branching to the left from
the upstream end of the instant reach.
ULSEG Upstream left SEG
ULMI Upstream left MI
URCU Upstream right CU. CU of the reach branching to the right from
the upstream end of the instant reach.
URSEG Upstream right SEG
URMI Upstream right MI
SEGL Reach length (Miles). This length was calculated from all of
the latitude/longitude coordinate values for the entire length
of the reach. NOTE: The difference between MI and UPMI will
NOT always equal SEGL. MI/UPMI are proportionally related
indexes based upon mileage calculations from RF1/RF2 and the
DLG. For all mileage calculations, SEGL should be used.
RFORGFLAG RF origin flag; records the version (RF1, RF2 or RF3) of the
Reach File in which a given reach first occurred.
ALTPNMCD Alternate primary name code (future use)
ALTOWNMC Alternate OW name code (future use)
DLAT Downstream latitude
DLONG Downstream longitude
ULAT Upstream latitude
ULONG Upstream longitude
MINLAT Minimum latitude
MINLONG Minimum longitude
MAXLAT Maximum latitude
MAXLONG Maximum longitude
NDLGREC Number of DLG records
LN1AT2 DLG line attribute 1
LN2AT2 DLG line attribute 2
AR1AT2 DLG area attribute
AR1AT4 DLG area attribute
AR2AT2 DLG area attribute
AR2AT4 DLG area attribute
UPDATE(#) Date of the update.
UPDTCD(#) Unique code for a set of updates. "1" series: Set during the
initial production. UPDTSRC equals "DLG100K". "2" and "3"
series: Set during future update procedures.
UPDTSRC(#) Code identifying the party performing the updates.
DIVCU Divergent CU. The CU of the divergent reach which is the minor
recipient of outflow from the instant reach.
DIVSEG Divergent SEG
DIVMI Divergent MI
DLGID DLG number (special use)
DSRF3RCHID Unique downstream reach identifier
CURF3RCHID Unique complement reach identifier
ULRF3RCHID Unique upstream left reach identifier
URRF3RCHID Unique upstream right reach identifier
DIVRF3RCHID Unique divergent reach identifier
CODE_PTCHL Code for Port Charlotte area reaches. Not defined. See "FGDL
QUALITY ASSURANCE STATUS".
TEST_PTCHL "Test" for Port Charlotte area reaches. Not defined. See "FGDL
QUALITY ASSURANCE STATUS".
USER NOTES:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Reach Files are a series of hydrographic databases of surface waters. A key characteristic of the Reachfiles are their attributes that define the connected stream network. These attributes provide connectivity regardless of the presence or absence of topologic continuity in the digital linework. Flow direction is inherent in the connectivity attributes. This attributelevel connectivity enables the Reach Files to provide hydrologic ordering of stream locations using reach codes (what is upstream and downstream of a given point in the stream network) as well as network navigation proceeding in either the upstream or downstream direction.
RF3Alpha data is unvalidated and given the nature of the shortcomings that have been identified in the RF3Alpha data and the redesign work that is being incorporated into RF3 validation to support GIS applications, it is recommended that a conservative approach be taken when processing and applying these data. The final, validated RF3 ("The National Hydrography Dataset") will provide a much improved data product. In the mean time, access to the provisional Alpha data, accompanying documentation, and technical support is provided through the Office of Water's (OW) STORET User Assistance Group. STORET, EPA's national water quality data system, is currently undergoing a major redesign to address evolving user requirements and technology advancements including GIS. Both STORET and RF3 will play integral roles in EPA's future water quality data collection, analysis, and reporting activities.
The structure and content of the Reach File databases were created expressly to establish hydrologic ordering, to perform hydrologic navigation for modeling applications, and to provide a unique identifier for each surface water feature, i.e., reach codes.
FGDL QUALITY ASSURANCE STATUS:
-Projected from Geographic decimal degrees nad83 to FGDL standards.
-Tolerances were set to FGDL standards.
-Spatial and attribute data were missing for the Port Charlotte area. Data were
obtained for the area from an earlier River Reach coverage and appended to
this coverage. The only attribute data available for reaches in the area are
the core arc coverage items and CU, SEG, MI, UP, DOWN, RF3RCHID, CODE_PTCHL,
and TEST_PTCHL.
-Converted PNAME, CNAME, OWNAME, and UPDTCD1 values to upper case format.
-Added DESCRIPT item based on PNAME.
-Dropped the following items because they contained no data: cnmcd, updtcd2,
updtsrc2, updtcd3, updtsrc3 and filler. Dropped LENGTH_M (length in meters)
because after the coverage was reprojected to meters, the LENGTH item
contained the same values.
REFERENCES:
The following publication includes: the history of the EPA River Reach files (RF3); a description of the process for producing the dataset; a technical description of RF3; and instruction for using the dataset in Arc/Info.
McKay, Lucinda, Sue Hanson, Robert Horn, Richard Dulaney, Alan Cahoon, Mark Olsen, and Thomas Dewald, 1994. The U.S. EPA Reach File Version 3.0 Alpha Release (RF3Alpha) Technical Reference. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC
More information can be found online at:
DATA LINEAGE SUMMARY:
RF3a files were initially produced as ArcInfo export files (.e00 file) on a U.S. EPA mainframe computer in the STORET environment. RF3a vector files were requested by hydrological unit code (HUC) within an entire state. Upon completion of mainframe processing, the RF3a files were downloaded using file transfer protocol (FTP).
The initial processing step involved importing the .e00 file into ArcInfo and projecting it to Albers meters. The projected coverage then had a Length_m (meters) item added with its value calculated to hold the length of the arc in meters after projecting to decimal degrees. The coverage was then projected from Albersmeters to decimal degreesNAD83. A route feature was then built on the rf3rchid item.
The processed ArcInfo export files were compressed and copied to a PC hard disk for storage in one nationwide directory. Upon completion of processing all of the HUCs, a list was generated of all of the processed files. This list was then compared to a list of HUCs created from the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) 1:250,000 Hydrologic units maps of the Conterminous United States to verify the presence of RF3a files for each HUC.
RF3a files were distributed on for inclusion with the BASINS application on CDROM as a series of ArcInfo coverages that included the spatial extent of each of the nine U.S. EPA Regions (including the HUCs that crossed Region boundaries). The nine regional coverages therefore overlapped at Regional boundaries. The coverages were distributed in ArcIno coverage format.
With the release of Basins version 2, the RF3 Arcinfo coverages were converted into Arcview shapefiles.
MAP PROJECTION PARAMETERS
Projection ALBERS Units METERS Datum HPGN Spheroid GRS1980 1st standard parallel 24 0 0.000 2nd standard parallel 31 30 0.000 central meridian -84 0 0.000 latitude of projection's origin 24 0 0.000 false easting (meters) 400000.00000 false northing (meters) 0.00000
DATA SOURCES CONTACT(S):
Name: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water/OST/SASD Basins
Abbr.name: EPA
Address: 401 M Street, SW Mail Stop 4305
Washington, D.C. 20460
Phone: (202) 2607301, or for STORET User Assistance call 18004249067.
Fax: (202) 2609830
Web site: For BASINS model and hydrographic data http://www.epa.gov/OST/BASINS
For documentation and reference to EPA's River Reach data files
http://www.epa.gov/owow/NPS
FGDL CONTACT:
Name: FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY
Abbr. Name: FGDL
Address: Florida Geographic Data Library
431 Architecture Building
PO Box 115706
Gainesville, FL 326115706
Web site: http://www.fgdl.org
Contact FGDL:
Technical Support: http://www.fgdl.org/fgdlfeed.html
FGDL Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.fgdl.org/fgdlfaq.html
FGDL Mailing Lists: http://www.fgdl.org/fgdl-l.html
For FGDL Software: http://www.fgdl.org/software.html