Excel file STATION2000p1 should be used for reporting funding support information for surface-water, ground-water, precipitation, and sediment data-collection stations. This year we are asking that furnished surface-water record stations be counted separately.

Excel file STATION2000p2 should be used for:

1. reporting counts of different types of telemetry used at data-collection stations, as well as whether the telemetry is operated by the USGS or other agencies. New types of telemetry, expanding telemetry networks, and the serving of data on the World Wide Web have altered the way the districts collect and disseminate data, increasing the data.s value and enhancing the services provided to cooperators and the public. To acquire and sustain policy-level support for this process, we are requesting detailed telemetry information.
2. reporting counts of different types of water-level sensors employed at stations. This information is needed for developing a national equipment/instrumentation QA/QC program.

The explanations can be found in the attached Appendix. If some difficulty arises in assigning stations to a category, report these separately and, after all the material is in, we will determine where they might best fit. For consistency with past years, the counts of surface-water quality and ground-water level complete-record stations should be included in the counts of the respective scheduled, long-term operations station rows.

Again, we appreciate your efforts in documenting this information for us. These data will give us an accurate account of the number of hydrologic data-collection stations operated during this fiscal year (FY) and will be used in preparing the U.S. Geological Survey budget justification for FY 2002. Your responses will assist us in answering the many requests we receive for information.

Please return the completed State spreadsheet files by email to Melvin Lew (mlew@usgs.gov) by May 31.

If you have any questions, please contact Mel at (703) 648-6811 or Tom Zembrzuski, Chief, Branch of Operational Support at (703) 648-5364.

Attachments: (Stations 1 & Stations 2)
Appendix follows

Types of Stations

COMPLETE RECORD:  hydrologic data obtained using a continuous data-recording device through which either instantaneous or mean daily values may be computed for any time, or any period, during the period of record. Both year-round and seasonal stations should be counted in this category. These stations are considered part of the State's long-term hydrologic network.