In Reply Refer To:
Mail Stop 415

May 19, 2003

Subject: Release of WinRiver Software Version 10.05 for Computing Streamflow from Acoustic Profiler Data

The purpose of this memorandum is to announce the availability of WinRiver 10.05 for collecting and processing data collected with RD Instruments (RDI) acoustic profilers (Broadband, Rio Grande, Workhorse, and others). The WinRiver software was developed by RDI, in cooperation with the USGS, as a part of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). The use of WinRiver software by USGS offices was announced in Office of Surface Water Technical Memorandums No. 2000.03 and 2002.03.

RDI released version 10.04 of WinRiver to the public in late January 2003. However, while this release memo was in review some minor infrequently occurring bugs were identified. Therefore, a new version of WinRiver, version 10.05, is now being released.

RDI has continued to update and improve the WinRiver software. Various new features are included in WinRiver 10.05 and known problems have been fixed since the release of WinRiver 10.03. Attachment A contains detailed information about major enhancements in WinRiver 10.05, including

• implementation of configuration file locking,
• addition of a discharge measurement summary wizard,
• updates to the configuration wizard for configuring RDI ADCP's, and
• addition of new velocity profile extrapolation techniques.

The following policies and guidance are offered regarding the use of WinRiver 10.05 with RDI ADCP's. (A more detailed explanation of items 2 - 5 is presented in attachment A.)

1. All USGS users who collect streamflow data using RDI ADCP's should upgrade to WinRiver 10.05. The software is available to USGS personnel who own and use ADCP's manufactured by RDI at http://hydroacoustics.usgs.gov/software/.
2. OSW strongly recommends that users begin to use the file-locking feature immediately. Proper use of this feature will help insure that (a) inadvertent changes are not made to the data after the streamflow record is finalized and (b) ADCP data files are not archived with possible inadvertent changes.
3. Use of the new Discharge Measurement Wizard (DMW) is mandatory starting immediately for discharge measurements made in the basic streamflow data collection program. Use of the wizard will help standardize measurement summaries and make reviewing measurements easier. The ultimate goal is to import the measurement summary information into NWIS.
4. OSW strongly recommends that users always make use of the Configuration Wizard (CW) rather than existing configuration files. The Configuration Wizard was described in Office of Surface Water Policy Memo 2002.03. Each time a site is visited, the wizard should be used in order to insure that current site conditions are reflected in the measurement configuration. If any user commands are used to override direct commands created by the configuration wizard, users must document the reason for their use in the measurement notes.
5. With the implementation of new extrapolation techniques, OSW does not believe that there is any instance where a user should set the bottom extrapolation method to Constant.

Lists of new features, changes to existing features, and bugs fixed are provided in Attachment B. For further information on use of the WinRiver, please refer to the Help menu and to the software release notes and documentation. If you have any questions or comments about the policies and guidance in this memo, please contact Kevin Oberg (kaoberg@usgs.gov) or the OSW Hydroacoustics Work Group (hawg@simon.er.usgs.gov).

Attachment A (pdf)
Attachment B (pdf)

Distribution List: Data Chiefs, Surface-Water Specialists, Office of Surface Water, and HAWG
Copy to: A, B, and District Chiefs