Data Reliability Disclaimer

Water Resources Data Reliability Disclaimer


Information about Data Reliability

This page is a brief introduction into the reliability for the
various types of water resources data served by the USGS on the
"NWISWeb" Web pages, specifically groundwater, surface water, and
water-quality data and information, and site location information.

More information is available at:

US Geological Survey Office of - Groundwater || Surface Water || Water-Quality

Please send us e-mail if you have more questions.

Groundwater Well Information and Data Disclaimer

All information in the groundwater database is provisional and subject
to revision.  The data have been collected and entered for a wide variety
of projects and purposes over a long period of time and the resulting 
databases varies in quality and detail.  The data represent a combination
of measured (by USGS personnel) and reported information.  Although many
wells have accurate information (especially those field visited for use
in recent projects), some problems are known to exist for older entries.
Examples of known problems include, but are not limited to, inaccurate
well locations, old information regarding the use of water from the well,
and incorrect installation dates.  Many of the wells in the database 
have not been field visited, but were entered into the database from
well drillers' reports, using the general location information supplied
by the drillers.  Many other Federal, State, and local agencies use
the same well-numbering system that is used in this database; consistency
of assigned well numbers between agency databases should not be assumed.
This database does not represent all wells in Washington State.

Surface Water Information and Data Disclaimer

Realtime streamflow data available on the District Home Pages are
PROVISIONAL data that have not been reviewed or edited.  These data 
may be subject to significant change and are not citeable until reviewed
and approved by the U.S. Geological Survey.  Realtime streamflow data
may be changed after review because the stage-discharge relationship
may have been affected by:

    
Data are reviewed periodically to ensure accuracy. Each station record is considered PROVISIONAL until the data are published. The data are usually published within 6 months of the end of the water year. Data users are cautioned to consider carefully the provisional nature of the information before using it for decisions that concern personal or public safety or the conduct of business that involves substantial monetary or operational consequences. Information concerning the accuracy and appropriate uses of these data or concerning other hydrologic data may be obtained by contacting the individual listed on the data page.

Water Quality Information and Data Disclaimer

Information about water quality data is available at the following
Web page:
Currently published water quality data is available through the end of
the 1999 water year, September 30, 1999.  Provisional current year
water quality may be available later next year.

Site Location Information

Information about the site location have been entered into the various
computer databases over the decades using the latest maps and location
information available at the time.  Some locations are updated as the 
necessary, but some older, discontinued sites may not have had the site 
information checked or updated since the last update.  Information such 
as latitute and longitude, county, and other data may not be accurate
by today's standards or information.

In the case of surface water sites, the site name is based on the name
of the creek or river, or lake if appropriate, location information
such as highways, bridges, etc., and the nearest Post Office or town.
Many older sites have towns that are many miles from the site, or have
towns that may have been incorporated into newer or larger towns or 
cities.

If you have any questions about the information about any site(s),
please use the links to ask.

Still have questions? Please, ask us.

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Water Resources of Florida
Maintainer: Richard J. Verdi
Last update: June 12, 2002