PeakFQ

  Annual Flood Frequency Analysis Using Bulletin 17B and EMA Guidelines

                         Version 7.1

                          2014/03/14

--->
---> NOTICE:  Compiled for Windows 7.
--->
---> This release has been tested under 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7.
--->
---> It has not been tested under Vista, XP nor earlier versions
---> of Windows; no assistance or support will be provided for
---> using the program under these older versions of Windows.
---> 

For assistance, enhancement requests, or to report bugs, contact the
Office of Surface Water by sending e-mail to h2osoft@usgs.gov.


A. Quick Start

   1. If you have previously installed version 5.0 or later of 
      PEAKFQ or PKFQWin use the "Add/Remove Programs" under the 
      "Settings-Control Panel" Window to uninstall the old PeakFQ
      before installing the new version.

   2. From http://water.usgs.gov/software/PeakFQ/,
      download PeakFQ_7.1.exe 

   3. To launch the installation, double click on the downloaded
      PeakFQ_7.1.exe  

      If you accept all defaults during the installation process,
      PeakFQ will be installed in C:\Program Files(x86)\PeakFQ, a
      PeakFQ icon will be placed on your desktop, and PeakFQ
      will be added to the start menu under USGS
      
   4. PeakFQ is launched by

      a.  clicking on the desktop PeakFQ icon or
      b.  selecting USGS/PeakFQ from the Start menu

   5. A PeakFQ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) can be found at

      http://acwi.gov/hydrology/Frequency/b17_swfaq/EMAFAQ.html

   6. Bulletin 17B is available as a PDF file and can be found at

      http://water.usgs.gov/osw/bulletin17b/bulletin_17B.html.

B. Input Files

   *** NOTE: PeakFQ cannot recognize file paths (including directory
   names and filenames) longer than 72 characters.  The program will
   fail to compute an output, with no warning to the user, unless the
   input files are placed into a short file path. ***
   
   PeakFQ recognizes peak flow data in the PeakFQ (watstore) standard
   format.

   Annual peak flows are available in the PeakQF standard format
   from NWIS-Web, see http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/peak.
   (Note:  the PeakFQ program CANNOT read the Tab-separated format.)

C. Test Data Files 

   Test data is provided as an example and to test the program.  Assuming
   a default installation, copy the files

        TEST2.PSF - Program specification file
        test2.inp - annual peaks

    from C:\Program Files(x86)\PeakFQ\ into one of your directories. Either
    file can be used as the input file to PeakFQ. If you use the .inp file,
    PeakFQ will provide default values for Bulletin 17B analysis. If you use
    the .psf file, PeakFQ will override the defaults for selected parameters.