Reports and statistics:  Use of station numbers in annual reports


                                            January 26, 1960

QUALITY OF WATER BRANCH MEMORANDUM NO. 60.25

To:       District Chiefs and Staff Officials

From:     Acting Chief, Quality of Water Branch, Washington, 
          D.C.

Subject:  Reports and statistics:  Use of station numbers in
          annual reports

     Surface Water Branch Memorandum 60.39, dated December 8,
1959, (copy attached) gives a procedure for including the 
station number for gaging stations reported in the annual 
water supply paper.  Use of such a numbering system in 
connection with quality-of-water stations will also be 
advantageous, particularly as we progress toward recording 
quality-of-water data on tape or punch cards.  This procedure 
will materially aid in cross-checking of records in the two 
series or publications.  Therefore, we wish to begin this 
system in the quality-of-water annual reports beginning with 
the 1958 water year, also, if practicable.

     The district offices will coordinate the assignment of 
these numbers with the appropriate Surface Water Branch 
District office.  Most station numbering will be reasonably 
clear cut.  However, we foresee that there may be some 
problems in connection with water-quality stations that have 
been given names different from gaging stations because of 
distance; yet the quality-of-water stations use the same 
discharge records.  The number assigned to a quality of water 
station must agree exactly with the number of the 
corresponding gaging station.

     When the sampling site is different from the gaging 
station, the same number as that for the gaging station 
should still be used if that number would be assigned were 
the gage moved to the sampling site.  That is, gaging 
stations may sometimes be moved without a change in name (or 
number) if the records at the two sites are considered 
equivalent.  In general, the quality-of-water station names 
have probably also followed this practice. Therefore, if the 
sampling site is different from a gaging station site, but 
they have different names, a new number will have to be 
chosen for the sampling station site.

     Will you kindly take steps to number current regular
quality-of-water stations in the tables to be submitted for 
the 1958 water year.  Also assign numbers to miscellaneous 
sampling sites located at gaging stations.  Exclude only 
those sampling sites not at gaging stations where infrequent 
miscellaneous samples are obtained.

     Although numbers will be assigned for most locations we
recognize that a few samples will be obtained for special
purposes and we are not justified in giving them a number.  
We do not now intend to separate these analyses from the 
regular table of miscellaneous analyses.  Therefore, some 
names may be reported with and some names without numbers in 
the table of miscellaneous analyses.

     The abbreviated station number will be placed on all 
Quality of Water Branch gaging-station manuscript 
descriptions immediately to the left of and on the line with 
the station name. The complete station number should be shown 
on station operation lists, your records of changes in 
station operation, and any correspondence concerning 
particular stations.

                              (signed)

                              R.B. Vice for W.W. Hastings

Attachment

WRD Distribution
A, B, S4, FO 4, FO-L2