ARS Water Database
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) US Department of Agriculture; National Agricultural Library
Version: View help for Version V1
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Project Citation:
US Department of Agriculture, and National Agricultural Library. ARS Water Database. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2026-06-26. https://doi.org/10.3886/E250277V1
Project Description
Project Title:
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ARS Water Database
Summary:
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The ARS Water Data Base is a collection of precipitation and streamflow data from small agricultural watersheds in the United States. This national archive of variable time-series readings for precipitation and runoff contains sufficient detail to reconstruct storm hydrographs and hyetographs. There are currently about 14,000 station years of data stored in the data base. Watersheds used as study areas range from 0.2 hectare (0.5 acres) to 12,400 square kilometers (4,786 square miles). Raingage networks range from one station per watershed to over 200 stations. The period of record for individual watersheds vary from 1 to 50 years. Some watersheds have been in continuous operation since the mid 1930's.
Resources in this dataset:
Resource Title: FORMAT INFORMATION FOR VARIOUS RECORD TYPES. File Name: format.txtResource Description: Format information identifying fields and their length will be included in this file for all files except those ending with the extension .txt TYPES OF FILES As indicated in the previous section data has been stored by location number in the form, LXX where XX is the location number. In each subdirectory, there will be various files using the following naming conventions: Runoff data: WSXXX.zip where XXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. This number may or may not correspond to a naming convention used in common literature. Rainfall data: RGXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXX is the rain gage station identification. Maximum-minimum daily air temperature: MMTXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. Ancillary text files: NOTXXXXX.txt where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. These files will contain textual information including latitude-longitude, name commonly used in literature, acreage, most commonly-associated rain gage(s) (if known by the WDC), a list of all rain gages on or near the watershed. Land use, topography, and soils as known by the WDC. Topographic maps of the watersheds: MAPXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the location/watershed number assigned by the WDC. Map files are binary TIF files. NOT ALL FILE TYPES MAY BE AVAILABLE FOR SPECIFIC WATERSHEDS. Data files are still being compiled and translated into a form viable for this archive. Please bear with us while we grow.
Resource Title: FORMAT INFORMATION FOR VARIOUS RECORD TYPES.
File Name: format.txt
Resource Description: Format information identifying fields and their length will be included in this file for all files except those ending with the extension .txt
TYPES OF FILES
As indicated in the previous section data has been stored by location number in the form, LXX where XX is the location number. In each subdirectory, there will be various files using the following naming conventions:
Runoff data: WSXXX.zip where XXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. This number may or may not correspond to a naming convention used in common literature.
Rainfall data: RGXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXX is the rain gage station identification.
Maximum-minimum daily air temperature: MMTXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC.
Ancillary text files: NOTXXXXX.txt where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. These files will contain textual information including latitude-longitude, name commonly used in literature, acreage, most commonly-associated rain gage(s) (if known by the WDC), a list of all rain gages on or near the watershed. Land use, topography, and soils as known by the WDC.
Topographic maps of the watersheds: MAPXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the location/watershed number assigned by the WDC. Map files are binary TIF files.
NOT ALL FILE TYPES MAY BE AVAILABLE FOR SPECIFIC WATERSHEDS. Data files are still being compiled and translated into a form viable for this archive. Please bear with us while we grow.
Resource Title: Data Inventory - watersheds. File Name: inventor.txtResource Description: Watersheds at which records of runoff were being collected by the Agricultural Research Service. Variables: Study Location & Number of Rain Gages1; Name; Lat.; Long; Number; Pub. Code; Record Began; Land Use2; Area (Acres); Types of Data3
Resource Title: Data Inventory - watersheds.
File Name: inventor.txt
Resource Description: Watersheds at which records of runoff were being collected by the Agricultural Research Service.
Variables: Study Location & Number of Rain Gages1; Name; Lat.; Long; Number; Pub. Code; Record Began; Land Use2; Area (Acres); Types of Data3
Resource Title: Information about the ARS Water Database. File Name: README.txt
Resource Title: Information about the ARS Water Database.
File Name: README.txt
Resource Title: INDEX TO INFORMATION ON EXPERIMENTAL AGRICULTURAL WATERSHEDS. File Name: INDEX.TXTResource Description: This report includes identification information on all watersheds operated by the ARS. Only some of these are included in the ARS Water Data Base. They are so indicated in the column titled ARS Water Data Base. Other watersheds will not have data available here or through the Water Data Center. This index is particularly important since it relates watershed names with the indexing system used by the Water Data Center. Each location has been assigned a number. The data for that location will be stored in a sub-directory coded as LXX where XX is the location number. The index also indicates the watershed number used by the WDC. Data for a particular watershed will be stored in a compressed file named WSXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. Although not included in the index, rain gage information will be stored in compressed files named RGXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXX is a 6-character identification of the rain gage station. The Index also provides information such as latitude-longitude for each of the watersheds, acreage, the period-of-record for each acreage. Multiple entries for a particular watershed will either indicate that the acreage designated for the watershed changed or there was a break in operations of the watershed.
Resource Title: INDEX TO INFORMATION ON EXPERIMENTAL AGRICULTURAL WATERSHEDS.
File Name: INDEX.TXT
Resource Description: This report includes identification information on all watersheds operated by the ARS. Only some of these are included in the ARS Water Data Base. They are so indicated in the column titled ARS Water Data Base. Other watersheds will not have data available here or through the Water Data Center. This index is particularly important since it relates watershed names with the indexing system used by the Water Data Center. Each location has been assigned a number. The data for that location will be stored in a sub-directory coded as LXX where XX is the location number. The index also indicates the watershed number used by the WDC. Data for a particular watershed will be stored in a compressed file named WSXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. Although not included in the index, rain gage information will be stored in compressed files named RGXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXX is a 6-character identification of the rain gage station.
The Index also provides information such as latitude-longitude for each of the watersheds, acreage, the period-of-record for each acreage. Multiple entries for a particular watershed will either indicate that the acreage designated for the watershed changed or there was a break in operations of the watershed.
Resource Title: ARS Water Database files. File Name: ars_water.zipResource Description: USING THIS SYSTEM Before downloading huge amounts of data from the ARS Water Data Base, you should first review the text files included in this directory. They include: INDEX OF ARS EXPERIMENTAL WATERSHEDS: index.txt This report includes identification information on all watersheds operated by the ARS. Only some of these are included in the ARS Water Data Base. They are so indicated in the column titled ARS Water Data Base. Other watersheds will not have data available here or through the Water Data Center. This index is particularly important since it relates watershed names with the indexing system used by the Water Data Center. Each location has been assigned a number. The data for that location will be stored in a sub-directory coded as LXX where XX is the location number. The index also indicates the watershed number used by the WDC. Data for a particular watershed will be stored in a compressed file named WSXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. Although not included in the index, rain gage information will be stored in compressed files named RGXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXX is a 6-character identification of the rain gage station. The Index also provides information such as latitude-longitude for each of the watersheds, acreage, the period-of-record for each acreage. Multiple entries for a particular watershed will either indicate that the acreage designated for the watershed changed or there was a break in operations of the watershed. STATION TABLE FOR THE ARS WATER DATA BASE: station.txt This report indicates the period of record for each recording station represented in the ARS Water Data Base. The data for a particular station will be stored in a single compressed file. FORMAT INFORMATION FOR VARIOUS RECORD TYPES: format.txt Format information identifying fields and their length will be included in this file for all files except those ending with the extension .txt TYPES OF FILES As indicated in the previous section data has been stored by location number in the form, LXX where XX is the location number. In each subdirectory, there will be various files using the following naming conventions: Runoff data: WSXXX.zip where XXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. This number may or may not correspond to a naming convention used in common literature. Rainfall data: RGXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXX is the rain gage station identification. Maximum-minimum daily air temperature: MMTXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. Ancillary text files: NOTXXXXX.txt where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. These files will contain textual information including latitude-longitude, name commonly used in literature, acreage, most commonly-associated rain gage(s) (if known by the WDC), a list of all rain gages on or near the watershed. Land use, topography, and soils as known by the WDC. Topographic maps of the watersheds: MAPXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the location/watershed number assigned by the WDC. Map files are binary TIF files. NOT ALL FILE TYPES MAY BE AVAILABLE FOR SPECIFIC WATERSHEDS. Data files are still being compiled and translated into a form viable for this archive. Please bear with us while we grow.
Resource Title: ARS Water Database files.
File Name: ars_water.zip
Resource Description: USING THIS SYSTEM
Before downloading huge amounts of data from the ARS Water Data Base, you should first review the text files included in this directory. They include:
INDEX OF ARS EXPERIMENTAL WATERSHEDS: index.txt
This report includes identification information on all watersheds operated by the ARS. Only some of these are included in the ARS Water Data Base. They are so indicated in the column titled ARS Water Data Base. Other watersheds will not have data available here or through the Water Data Center. This index is particularly important since it relates watershed names with the indexing system used by the Water Data Center. Each location has been assigned a number. The data for that location will be stored in a sub-directory coded as LXX where XX is the location number. The index also indicates the watershed number used by the WDC. Data for a particular watershed will be stored in a compressed file named WSXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. Although not included in the index, rain gage information will be stored in compressed files named RGXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXX is a 6-character identification of the rain gage station.
The Index also provides information such as latitude-longitude for each of the watersheds, acreage, the period-of-record for each acreage. Multiple entries for a particular watershed will either indicate that the acreage designated for the watershed changed or there was a break in operations of the watershed.
STATION TABLE FOR THE ARS WATER DATA BASE: station.txt
This report indicates the period of record for each recording station represented in the ARS Water Data Base. The data for a particular station will be stored in a single compressed file.
FORMAT INFORMATION FOR VARIOUS RECORD TYPES: format.txt
Format information identifying fields and their length will be included in this file for all files except those ending with the extension .txt
TYPES OF FILES
As indicated in the previous section data has been stored by location number in the form, LXX where XX is the location number. In each subdirectory, there will be various files using the following naming conventions:
Runoff data: WSXXX.zip where XXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. This number may or may not correspond to a naming convention used in common literature.
Rainfall data: RGXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXX is the rain gage station identification.
Maximum-minimum daily air temperature: MMTXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC.
Ancillary text files: NOTXXXXX.txt where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. These files will contain textual information including latitude-longitude, name commonly used in literature, acreage, most commonly-associated rain gage(s) (if known by the WDC), a list of all rain gages on or near the watershed. Land use, topography, and soils as known by the WDC.
Topographic maps of the watersheds: MAPXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the location/watershed number assigned by the WDC. Map files are binary TIF files.
NOT ALL FILE TYPES MAY BE AVAILABLE FOR SPECIFIC WATERSHEDS. Data files are still being compiled and translated into a form viable for this archive. Please bear with us while we grow.
Resources in this dataset:
Resource Title: FORMAT INFORMATION FOR VARIOUS RECORD TYPES. File Name: format.txtResource Description: Format information identifying fields and their length will be included in this file for all files except those ending with the extension .txt TYPES OF FILES As indicated in the previous section data has been stored by location number in the form, LXX where XX is the location number. In each subdirectory, there will be various files using the following naming conventions: Runoff data: WSXXX.zip where XXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. This number may or may not correspond to a naming convention used in common literature. Rainfall data: RGXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXX is the rain gage station identification. Maximum-minimum daily air temperature: MMTXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. Ancillary text files: NOTXXXXX.txt where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. These files will contain textual information including latitude-longitude, name commonly used in literature, acreage, most commonly-associated rain gage(s) (if known by the WDC), a list of all rain gages on or near the watershed. Land use, topography, and soils as known by the WDC. Topographic maps of the watersheds: MAPXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the location/watershed number assigned by the WDC. Map files are binary TIF files. NOT ALL FILE TYPES MAY BE AVAILABLE FOR SPECIFIC WATERSHEDS. Data files are still being compiled and translated into a form viable for this archive. Please bear with us while we grow.
Resource Title: FORMAT INFORMATION FOR VARIOUS RECORD TYPES.
File Name: format.txt
Resource Description: Format information identifying fields and their length will be included in this file for all files except those ending with the extension .txt
TYPES OF FILES
As indicated in the previous section data has been stored by location number in the form, LXX where XX is the location number. In each subdirectory, there will be various files using the following naming conventions:
Runoff data: WSXXX.zip where XXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. This number may or may not correspond to a naming convention used in common literature.
Rainfall data: RGXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXX is the rain gage station identification.
Maximum-minimum daily air temperature: MMTXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC.
Ancillary text files: NOTXXXXX.txt where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. These files will contain textual information including latitude-longitude, name commonly used in literature, acreage, most commonly-associated rain gage(s) (if known by the WDC), a list of all rain gages on or near the watershed. Land use, topography, and soils as known by the WDC.
Topographic maps of the watersheds: MAPXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the location/watershed number assigned by the WDC. Map files are binary TIF files.
NOT ALL FILE TYPES MAY BE AVAILABLE FOR SPECIFIC WATERSHEDS. Data files are still being compiled and translated into a form viable for this archive. Please bear with us while we grow.
Resource Title: Data Inventory - watersheds. File Name: inventor.txtResource Description: Watersheds at which records of runoff were being collected by the Agricultural Research Service. Variables: Study Location & Number of Rain Gages1; Name; Lat.; Long; Number; Pub. Code; Record Began; Land Use2; Area (Acres); Types of Data3
Resource Title: Data Inventory - watersheds.
File Name: inventor.txt
Resource Description: Watersheds at which records of runoff were being collected by the Agricultural Research Service.
Variables: Study Location & Number of Rain Gages1; Name; Lat.; Long; Number; Pub. Code; Record Began; Land Use2; Area (Acres); Types of Data3
Resource Title: Information about the ARS Water Database. File Name: README.txt
Resource Title: Information about the ARS Water Database.
File Name: README.txt
Resource Title: INDEX TO INFORMATION ON EXPERIMENTAL AGRICULTURAL WATERSHEDS. File Name: INDEX.TXTResource Description: This report includes identification information on all watersheds operated by the ARS. Only some of these are included in the ARS Water Data Base. They are so indicated in the column titled ARS Water Data Base. Other watersheds will not have data available here or through the Water Data Center. This index is particularly important since it relates watershed names with the indexing system used by the Water Data Center. Each location has been assigned a number. The data for that location will be stored in a sub-directory coded as LXX where XX is the location number. The index also indicates the watershed number used by the WDC. Data for a particular watershed will be stored in a compressed file named WSXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. Although not included in the index, rain gage information will be stored in compressed files named RGXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXX is a 6-character identification of the rain gage station. The Index also provides information such as latitude-longitude for each of the watersheds, acreage, the period-of-record for each acreage. Multiple entries for a particular watershed will either indicate that the acreage designated for the watershed changed or there was a break in operations of the watershed.
Resource Title: INDEX TO INFORMATION ON EXPERIMENTAL AGRICULTURAL WATERSHEDS.
File Name: INDEX.TXT
Resource Description: This report includes identification information on all watersheds operated by the ARS. Only some of these are included in the ARS Water Data Base. They are so indicated in the column titled ARS Water Data Base. Other watersheds will not have data available here or through the Water Data Center. This index is particularly important since it relates watershed names with the indexing system used by the Water Data Center. Each location has been assigned a number. The data for that location will be stored in a sub-directory coded as LXX where XX is the location number. The index also indicates the watershed number used by the WDC. Data for a particular watershed will be stored in a compressed file named WSXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. Although not included in the index, rain gage information will be stored in compressed files named RGXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXX is a 6-character identification of the rain gage station.
The Index also provides information such as latitude-longitude for each of the watersheds, acreage, the period-of-record for each acreage. Multiple entries for a particular watershed will either indicate that the acreage designated for the watershed changed or there was a break in operations of the watershed.
Resource Title: ARS Water Database files. File Name: ars_water.zipResource Description: USING THIS SYSTEM Before downloading huge amounts of data from the ARS Water Data Base, you should first review the text files included in this directory. They include: INDEX OF ARS EXPERIMENTAL WATERSHEDS: index.txt This report includes identification information on all watersheds operated by the ARS. Only some of these are included in the ARS Water Data Base. They are so indicated in the column titled ARS Water Data Base. Other watersheds will not have data available here or through the Water Data Center. This index is particularly important since it relates watershed names with the indexing system used by the Water Data Center. Each location has been assigned a number. The data for that location will be stored in a sub-directory coded as LXX where XX is the location number. The index also indicates the watershed number used by the WDC. Data for a particular watershed will be stored in a compressed file named WSXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. Although not included in the index, rain gage information will be stored in compressed files named RGXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXX is a 6-character identification of the rain gage station. The Index also provides information such as latitude-longitude for each of the watersheds, acreage, the period-of-record for each acreage. Multiple entries for a particular watershed will either indicate that the acreage designated for the watershed changed or there was a break in operations of the watershed. STATION TABLE FOR THE ARS WATER DATA BASE: station.txt This report indicates the period of record for each recording station represented in the ARS Water Data Base. The data for a particular station will be stored in a single compressed file. FORMAT INFORMATION FOR VARIOUS RECORD TYPES: format.txt Format information identifying fields and their length will be included in this file for all files except those ending with the extension .txt TYPES OF FILES As indicated in the previous section data has been stored by location number in the form, LXX where XX is the location number. In each subdirectory, there will be various files using the following naming conventions: Runoff data: WSXXX.zip where XXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. This number may or may not correspond to a naming convention used in common literature. Rainfall data: RGXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXX is the rain gage station identification. Maximum-minimum daily air temperature: MMTXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. Ancillary text files: NOTXXXXX.txt where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. These files will contain textual information including latitude-longitude, name commonly used in literature, acreage, most commonly-associated rain gage(s) (if known by the WDC), a list of all rain gages on or near the watershed. Land use, topography, and soils as known by the WDC. Topographic maps of the watersheds: MAPXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the location/watershed number assigned by the WDC. Map files are binary TIF files. NOT ALL FILE TYPES MAY BE AVAILABLE FOR SPECIFIC WATERSHEDS. Data files are still being compiled and translated into a form viable for this archive. Please bear with us while we grow.
Resource Title: ARS Water Database files.
File Name: ars_water.zip
Resource Description: USING THIS SYSTEM
Before downloading huge amounts of data from the ARS Water Data Base, you should first review the text files included in this directory. They include:
INDEX OF ARS EXPERIMENTAL WATERSHEDS: index.txt
This report includes identification information on all watersheds operated by the ARS. Only some of these are included in the ARS Water Data Base. They are so indicated in the column titled ARS Water Data Base. Other watersheds will not have data available here or through the Water Data Center. This index is particularly important since it relates watershed names with the indexing system used by the Water Data Center. Each location has been assigned a number. The data for that location will be stored in a sub-directory coded as LXX where XX is the location number. The index also indicates the watershed number used by the WDC. Data for a particular watershed will be stored in a compressed file named WSXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. Although not included in the index, rain gage information will be stored in compressed files named RGXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXX is a 6-character identification of the rain gage station.
The Index also provides information such as latitude-longitude for each of the watersheds, acreage, the period-of-record for each acreage. Multiple entries for a particular watershed will either indicate that the acreage designated for the watershed changed or there was a break in operations of the watershed.
STATION TABLE FOR THE ARS WATER DATA BASE: station.txt
This report indicates the period of record for each recording station represented in the ARS Water Data Base. The data for a particular station will be stored in a single compressed file.
FORMAT INFORMATION FOR VARIOUS RECORD TYPES: format.txt
Format information identifying fields and their length will be included in this file for all files except those ending with the extension .txt
TYPES OF FILES
As indicated in the previous section data has been stored by location number in the form, LXX where XX is the location number. In each subdirectory, there will be various files using the following naming conventions:
Runoff data: WSXXX.zip where XXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. This number may or may not correspond to a naming convention used in common literature.
Rainfall data: RGXXXXXX.zip where XXXXXX is the rain gage station identification.
Maximum-minimum daily air temperature: MMTXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC.
Ancillary text files: NOTXXXXX.txt where XXXXX is the watershed number assigned by the WDC. These files will contain textual information including latitude-longitude, name commonly used in literature, acreage, most commonly-associated rain gage(s) (if known by the WDC), a list of all rain gages on or near the watershed. Land use, topography, and soils as known by the WDC.
Topographic maps of the watersheds: MAPXXXXX.zip where XXXXX is the location/watershed number assigned by the WDC. Map files are binary TIF files.
NOT ALL FILE TYPES MAY BE AVAILABLE FOR SPECIFIC WATERSHEDS. Data files are still being compiled and translated into a form viable for this archive. Please bear with us while we grow.
Original Distribution URL:
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https://agdatacommons.nal.usda.gov/articles/dataset/ARS_Water_Database/24660771
Scope of Project
Subject Terms:
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Water;
NP211;
NP212;
rainfall-runoff;
Online database;
data.gov;
ARS
Time Period(s):
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1/1/1929 – 12/31/1993
Data Type(s):
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observational data
Collection Notes:
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DOI: 10.15482/USDA.ADC/1410440
Citation: Moglen, Glenn (2017). ARS Water Database. USDA-ARS Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory. https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1410440 (Downloaded 2026-06-26)
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