Jun 17, 2021 - Next Generation of USGS Water Data for the Nation

NWISWeb and Water Services are undergoing an information technology modernization. In addition to public access points, back end business and data systems are being modernized. Today, users of NWISWeb and Water Services continue to have access to the same data services USGS Water has provided historically, however, changes are coming. Over the coming months, we will post plans and changes here at http://help.waterdata.usgs.gov, but for a complete view of activities, release notes, and more news, please visit https://waterdata.usgs.gov/blog.

Later this year, the next generation monitoring location pages will become the default view for users. Learn more about recent enhancements here (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/blog/release-notes-2021-04-16/). Next-generation pages were first released in ‘beta’ mode in 2018, and continue to be improved and expanded. As the finishing touches are released, we’ll communicate out through the blog, social media channels (https://twitter.com/usgs_water and https://www.instagram.com/usgs_streamgages/), and through the NWISWeb Notifications Listserve with details when the switch to next-generation modernized monitoring location pages will occur.  

Other applications undergoing modernization include Water Alert (https://maps.waterdata.usgs.gov/mapper/wateralert/) and the discrete water quality data system used by USGS Water. Stay tuned for more information on changes users can expect for those systems. 

When backend systems are modernized, sometimes front end display on classic NWISWeb is affected. Recently, the USGS NWIS ground water field visits data management system was modernized in order to  retire legacy, unsupported technology. This resulted in an enhanced display of groundwater field visits in the next gen monitoring pages (see more on that here), however also introduced a display issue on the classic NWISWeb site pages. As a result, the display of groundwater field visits on the hydrograph will be discontinued on the classic site pages. However, the data can still be accessed through the classic NWISWeb Groundwater Levels site (https://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/gwlevels), and groundwater level field visits are displayed on the hydrograph on the next-generation monitoring location pages.  

Please stay informed about modernization progress by following our blog (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/blog) and social media accounts (@usgs_water Twitter account), as well as updates here on the NWISWeb Help page.  

Gratefully,
Emily Read 
USGS Water Resources Mission Area  
Web Communications Branch Chief