The following is a list of the most frequently asked questions. However
if your particular question is not found here, you can search the monthly
archives of the BASINS listserver.
BASINS Version 3 General Questions
Old
FAQs on general and installation questions (Text File).
Q: What is the problem with the NHD download tool in BASINS?
A: When USGS switched to the new NHD in Geodatabase format in May 2004,
they moved the NHD legacy shapefiles to another server. Therefore the
following procedure will provide access to the proper server and file
names.
For BASINS 3.0 users having problems downloaded NHD You need to make
changes in the "b3import.ini" file found under
\BASINS\etc\extensions\data folder. Use a text editor like Notepad or
Wordpad to change
[server name]=edc.usgs.gov
to
[server name]=nhdftp.usgs.gov
and
[REMOTE PATH]=/pub/data/nhd/
to
[REMOTE PATH]=/FOD_Data/Medium/arc/
(note the CAPITAL letters above)
resave the "b3import.ini" file as text. Run the NHD download
tool to check it.
Q: The "Predefined Delineation" function in BASINS requires
specific subwatershed files and information that my State's delineation
does not provide (e.g., stream reach length, latitude of subbasin centroid,
etc.). My question is: what is the best way to make a subwatershed/subbasin
delineation in BASINS to match my States' available subwatershed boundaries?
Or can I use my State's delineation in BASINS?
A: The BASINS' team discovered a field size limitation of 4 characters
on the subwatershed ID. Therefore a work-around procedure has been developed
to import a non-BASINS "Predefined Delineation" watershed and
use it for your manual delineation. The procedure is the following:
1. Make sure the projection of your non-BASINS watershed theme is in
the same projection as that of your BASINS project. If not use ArcView's
Projection Wizard to reproject. Also you might want to put the subwatershed
theme with your other project GIS data in your \BASINS\data\<project>
folder.
2. Start your BASINS project. If you wish to use another stream network
other then RF1, then add it to your BASINS project. Add the subwatershed
theme to your view from the Data pull-down menu (Add Theme Shape-BASINS
Watershed). If your stream network is not on the pulldown list choose
the last one (NHD).
3. Open the attribute table of the subwatershed theme and edit the values
in the "SubWaterId" field so that that they are four characters
or less. One method to edit all of the values in the field is to use the
calculate tool [SubWaterID] = SubWaterID].Right(4) and save the edits.
Also if the Subwaternm field contains blanks then add the water body names
with their proper subwatersheds. Stop and save your edits.
4. In the BASINS view, make sure the DEM shapefile theme is in the project
window and overlays with your subwatershed theme.
5. Select (highlight) the subwatershed of interest and start the manual
delineator. Click the "Stream-Network" button and the program
will generate the Subbasins, Stream, and Outlet themes with all of the
required attributes for the selected subwatershed.
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Q. When will BASINS be compatible with the new ArcGIS (ArcView 8.x)
software?
A: After the BASINS Team releases version 3.1 which still requires the
ArcView 3.x software in the summer of 2004, we will work on BASINS 4.0
which will interface with either ArcGIS or ArcView 3.x which has a tentative
planned release for the end of 2005.
If your interested our contractor wrote a paper on BASINS 3.1 and BASINS
4 which can be
seen on the web at: http://hspf.com/pdf/BASINS4.pdf
Q. Where is the RF3 data that was provided on the web for BASINS?
A. EPA stopped support for the RF3 files because they have been enhanced
by a team effort between USGS and EPA into the National
Hydrography Dataset
We recommend you use the NHD rather than RF3. FYI there is an "NHD
Download Tool" available in BASINS to automatically load the NHD
into your BASINS project.
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Q. How does BASINS calculate stream width and depth values during manual
and automatic watershed delineation?
A. (PDF , 75KB)
Q. Does BASINS work with ArcView 8.x or ArcGIS?
A. No, BASINS currently only works with ArcView 3.x software however
the BASINS extensions will work with the new Spatial Analyst 2.0. See
the hardware and software requirements.
Q: Do I need to buy the Spatial Analyst extension for ArcView in order
to run version 3.0?
A: Spatial Analyst is required only for the SWAT and the Automatic Delineation
BASINS extensions. The USEPA and ESRI have entered into an agreement whereby
nonprofit organizations in the USA (e.g., Federal, State, Tribal, or watershed
groups developing TMDLs) may obtain Spatial Analyst version 1.1extension
at a reduced price. Under this agreement, EPA needs to make a determination
that you qualify for this special pricing because commercial entity use
is not covered under the EPA's Agreement with ESRI. After EPA makes a
determination of eligibility, EPA provides same to ESRI in writing (usually
by the 10th of each month) including information in the following list.
Any incomplete or missing information may result in a delay, or prevent
delivery,of the software to the end-user from ESRI.
To avail yourself of this special offer, send an email to kinerson.russell@epa.govand include
the following information:
end-user name-
organization-
address-
phone number-
fax number-
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Q: BASINS 3.0 appears to be missing a lot of the functionality included
in BASINS 2.0. Also some of the core data sets are no longer shown. Have
any functions or data sets from version 2.0 been removed. How do I find
them?
A: Note that in BASINS 3, all components are now installed as extensions.
Use the BASINS "Extension Manager" to load the extensions corresponding
to the functionality you need. Refer to the readme file and docs folder
for more info. Also the Toxiroute model has been removed in BASINS 3.0.
All other models, tools, data layers, and utilities from BASINS 2 are
still included.
The initial project now contains less data than in version 2.0. All core
data from 2.0 is still included in version 3.0 data sets. To load additional
data, use the Theme Manager.
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Q: How do I incorporate other ArcView extension into BASINS?
A: Instructions on adding other extensions into the BASINS applications
has been developed. Please download the ext4bsn3.pdf
(PDF,5KB) file.
Q: Is there a new manual or a tutorial for using BASINS?
A: See the BASINS Users manual in the "basins\docs" folder. Tutorial
instructions can be found at the end of each section starting with section
4.3. Also the new BASINS 3 Users Manual is available within your ArcView/BASINS
project window under the "Help"-"BASINS Help" pulldown menu at the top
right of the BASINS project window.
The BASINS 3.0 Users Manual is also available on the documentation
web page. A free printed copy of the manual is available from EPA's National Center for Environmental
Publications. Please provide the publication number EPA-823B01001
with your order.
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Q: Can BASINS be used outside the conterminous U.S.?
A: While BASINS was not explicitly designed for such use, projects can
be built outside the conterminous U.S. by duplicating the BASINS file
structure and database formats. BASINS utilizes ArcView AVENUE scripts
that read and process data from the multitude of attribute and data tables
provided in BASINS. By simply duplicating the BASINS database structure
and formats, you can take advantage of the analytical tools and models
in BASINS without rewriting the code. BASINS Technical
Note 2 lists the AVENUE scripts in BASINS as well as all the key fields
from which BASINS extracts data. It should be noted that the watershed
and water quality models (NPSM/WinHSPF and QUAL2E) can be operated in
a stand-alone fashion where the user manual enters all required input
parameters. When used in conjunction with standard BASINS data layers,
BASINS extracts GIS data sets to partially parameterize the models. The
datasets used in the parameterization are the stream reach network and
characteristic data (RF1 and RF3), landuse data (non-point source loads),
point source loads (PCS), and weather station data (WDM). See Technical
Note 2 for details.
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Q: Can I have both BASINS 3 and BASINS 2 on the same PC at the same
time?
A: BASINS 3.0 is not backward compatible with version 2.x. Also, the
BASINS 3.0 install program will overwrite files in the BASINS directory.
To preserve your work under 2.x, rename the BASINS directory something
like "BASINS2". Then install version 3.0 to "BASINS" directory. You can
then switch back and forth by simply renaming both directories
(e.g. "BASINS" -> "BASINS3", "BASINS2" -> "BASINS").
Q: I've noticed that the "Web Archive" button on the "Data Extraction"
tool does not work?
A: This was done to prevent loading the web data into the wrong directory
structure of BASINS 3.
A new "Web Extraction Tool", webextr.zip,
is now available to use data downloaded from the BASINS web site. To install
this tool first uncompress the zip file to an empty directory and then
run the "setup.exe" install program. This program should install all of
the executables in your "basins\etc" directory and a "Web Extraction Tool"program
will be placed in your BASINS program folder on your PC. For instructions
on running this tool, please open the online web help feature.
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Q: My local data are in State Plane projection with map units of feet.
I want to import my data to BASINS, but BASINS won't allow me to project
the BASINS data with a map unit of feet. How can I use my data in BASINS?
A: Although BASINS allows a variety of GIS data projections, e.g. Albers
Equal-Area, State Plane, and UTM, it requires that the map unit be in
meters. All of the calculations, graphs, measurements, and reports used
in BASINS are done in one consistent unit of measure, the metric system.
However one can use ESRI's Projection Wizard to reproject to State Plane
Feet from a BASINS project.
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Q: What is the projection for BASINS data?
A: BASINS GIS data is provided as unprojected-decimal degrees. Users
can project the data to their preferred projection using the "data
extractor" as described in the users manual. It should be noted that
the datum of the BASINS GIS data in NAD 83.
Q. I am having trouble using the Reporting feature with my local subwatershed
(landuse, soils) themes. The reports are greyed out under the Report menu,
or the report doesn't properly characterize different subwatersheds. How
can I get BASINS to recognize these new subwatershed boundaries (or new
landuse or soils themes) and report out correctly?
A. Due to a design limitation in BASINS 3.0, the Reporting feature does
not function for subwatersheds. The reporting features are designed to
work solely for BASINS native coverages (land use, soils, elevation, point
sources, water quality, and air emission data) and at the cataloging unit
watershed level. The Reporting feature is not available for local data.
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Q: My BASINS project shows water quality observation data sites but
the directory for the water quality observations data is missing. Where
is the data?
A: Some water quality observations data tables were inadvertently left
out of the BASINS data sets for a number of HUCs. These data sets are
being made available here
by the web by HUC code. Please select your correct table by following
the convention huc_code.dbf and copying the file to the BASINS\data\your_project_name\wqobs
directory.
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Q: Where is the newwobs.dbf file which is referenced in the tutorial
for appending water quality observation data?
A: The file can be downloaded
from the web. Save the file to the BASINS\data\tutorial\extra directory.
Note: The stored huc_code.dbf is in a different format from the newwobs.dbf
file. Please read the directions under "Append Water Quality Observation
Data Utility" on pages 254 - 256 in the "BASINS 3 Users Manual".
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HSPF Model
Q: Are there any tools that can be used to automate the calibration
of HSPF/WinHSPF?
A: The software PEST can be run in conjunction with HSPF to automate
the calibration of HSPF. PEST (stands for Parameter Estimation) can be
setup to iteratively run HSPF, while it modifies input parameter values
within user defined max/min limits until modeled flow matches gage flow
data. The software uses the Gauss-Marquardt-Levenberg nonlinear parameter
estimation method to determine how to best modify variable parameters
for each iteration of the model. The PEST software stops iterating once
the objective function, defined as the least squares of the difference
between modeled and measured flow, reaches a global minimum.
The PEST software is available from the developer
website
This web page also includes documentation on running PEST in conjunction
with HSPF, as well as example HSPF application files, and a special version
of HSPF12 modified to provide ascii output with full numerical precision.
EPA's Center for Exposure Assessment Modeling (CEAM) has a web site on
PEST
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Q: Is there a bibliography on the HSPF model?
A: Yes, Aqua Terra Consultants have compiled a extensive bibliography
on the HSPF model and it can be found on the web
Q: Is HSPF Version 12 available independently of BASINS 3.0? Will its
source code be made available?
A: HSPF 12 will be made available through the USGS and/or EPA
CEAM web pages. The source code for version 11 is currently available
there, with the installation program. The source code for version 12 will
be made available upon its release.
The documentation for HSPF version 12 can be found on the BASINS' documentation
web page.
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Q: Where can I get the HSPF parameter database program HSPFParm?
A: HSPFParm is now part of the BASINS 3.0 installation package, although
it must be installed separately. The program is included on the BASINS
3.0 CDs (disk1) or downloaded from the web from the web download.
Install HSPFParm by running the "HSPFParm1.1.exe" program. Please see
text files "hspfparm.txt" and "install.txt"prior to installation. Usage
of HSPFParm is free and unrestricted.
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WinHSPF/GenScn/WDMUtil
Q: I’m constructing a WDM file from scratch. What are the minimum
data requirements?
A: (PDF, 12KB)
Q: How do I convert my NPSM project to WinHSPF?
A: See the PDF document Converting
a Project from NPSM to WinHSPF (PDF, 125KB). The BASINS team is currently
testing an upgrade to WinHSPF which will automate this conversion process.
The WinHSPF/GenScn upgrade should be available soon.
Q: The installation for WinHSPF/GenScn did not run correctly. How can
I get the installation to work?
A. There is a bug in the setup program used by Visual Basic, which is
described on the Microsoft
web page
When updating system files, the installation first copies them to a temporary
directory, then during reboot they are supposed to be copied into the
system directory. (For technical reasons, some files can only be updated
during a reboot.) The cause we have seen is that either the system is
configured to automatically delete all temporary files during reboot or
temporary files are being stored on a different drive and therefore cannot
be copied into the system directory early in the reboot process.
The solution suggested by Microsoft is to make sure the directory C:\TEMP
exists, then open a command prompt window and type the following at the
prompt:
Set TMP=C:\TEMP
Set TEMP=C:\TEMP
If a user does this before attempting the installation again, it should
succeed.
In the process of diagnosing and finding solutions for this problem,
we also developed an alternative distribution of GenScn/WinHSPF that can
be installed manually without running the setup program. This distribution
can be found at:
http://hspf.com/pub/GenScn/
The file SkippingSetup.txt in that directory describes the process.
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Q: How do you run HSPF without running WinHSPF in the BASINS 3.0 environment? In
BASINS 2.x you could do this by running xnpsm11x.exe at the dos prompt.
A: Run WinHSPF "lite" - i.e. WinHSPFlt.exe in the BASINS\models\hspf\bindirectory.
This is a 32-bit version of HSPF meant to be used in exactly the same
way you used to use the dos HSPF v.11 executable.
Q: When I create a new WinHSPF project, it asks me for a project WDM
file. Where is this file?
A: The project WDM file is the output for WinHSPF. If you do not have
an existing WDM file for output, you can create one by clicking the "Select"
button and specify the directory and typing in a new file name.
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Q: How do I get WinHSPF to use the land use scenario I generated with
the Land Use Reclassification function?
A: WinHSPF is not currently able to use the land use scenarios in generating
a project. Instead, use the following work-around:
- Make a copy of the original land use theme (i.e. files in "BASINS\data\project\landuse")
as a backup.
- Perform a simple reclassify on one landuse and "Save Classification
to landuse theme" option.
- Using Windows Explorer delete the reclassification from "BASINS\data\project\landuse".
- Re-import the backup above as a user defined land use theme.
Q: I am trying to add a second general quality constituent to the PQUAL
module in WinHSPF. When I set NQUALS = 2 and complete the QUAL-PROPS table
for the second constituent and then try to fill in the QUAL-INPUT table,
it does not give me the option of the #2 occurrence in the drop down window.
Any suggestions as to how to fix this?
A: The latest Utah State BASINS training class covers a work-around to
this bug. This computer
session procedure (PDF) describes how to add an additional constituents
to the QUAL-INPUT table. You will need to modify your inputs to the specifics
of your project.
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QUAL2E Model
Q: Does version 3.0 support running QUAL2E on an NT or 2000 platform?
A: Yes, A modification to the QUAL2E application was made by Professor
Robert Traver of Villanova University. He revised all the batch files
and shortcuts so they work with Windows 2000 and Windows NT systems. This
new set of files and setup procedures allows the use of QUAL2E as an independent
(stand-alone) application on these operating systems.
While this revised QUAL2E Windows interface does works well in both NT
and 2000, the QUAL2E graphics program appears to work only in Windows
2000.
If you are interested in running QUAL2E as a stand-alone application
then please download the QUAL2E for Windows NT/2000 program.
Note: QUAL2E will NOT run on Windows XP.
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Q: How do I change the flow for a QUAL2E model run?
A: There are two way to update the flow for a QUAL2E model run.
1. Permanent change for many model runs:
In order to modify the default mean or 7Q10 stream flows employed by QUAL2E
for all runs, you must modify the flow values stored in the Reach (RF1)
file table. To do this, first open the RF1 table and locate the two flow
fields "mnflow" (mean flow, cfs) and "svtnflow" (7Q10
flow, cfs) for a river reach. Then using the table editing tool, change
the flow fields for the reaches of interest. Note: This is a permanent
change and these new flow values will be used for every model run done
after the change until they are edited or changed again.
2. Temporary change for a single run:
In order to modify the mean or 7Q10 stream flows employed by QUAL2E for
a single run, simply change the flow by using the input editor screen
contained within QUAL2E for a particular run.
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Q: Why is the point source flow in QUAL2E different from what is in
the PCS and IFD databases?
A: If there is no flow data available, then QUAL2E conservatively assumes
a minimum flow of
0.01 cu m/sec. However, it also checks if BOD concentration has reached
a QUAL2E maximum input limit of 1000 mg/L. If so, then the flow is recalculated
based on an annual BOD load and limiting concentration of 1000 mg?L.
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PLOAD Model
Q: I get an error message when using the "LiteratureReview_EMCs.xls"
spreadsheet as a data source for the PLOAD model. I don't get this error
when using the "Tutorial_EMC_Table.xls" or "tutoriallut.xls" spreadsheets.
How can I get PLOAD to work with the literature review spreadsheets?
A: The problem you are running into is due to the use of spaces and "%"
characters in the spreadsheet and spreadsheet names, which are incompatible
with the PLOAD software. A compressed revised without the spaces and "%"
characters "LiteratureReview_EMCs.xls" spreadsheet is available. Please
download the lremc101.zip
file.
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Additional Assistance
Additional questions and answers are also available on the BASINSInfo
Listserver Archives.
For more information on BASINS, contact the EPA BASINS support team:
Modeling and Information Technology Team
Standards and Health Protection Division
Office of Science and Technology
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Mailcode - 4305T
1201 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20460
Fax (202) 566-0409
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