Ecosystem Enhancement Program Targeted Local Watersheds

Metadata also available as - [Outline] - [Parseable text] - [XML]

Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title: Ecosystem Enhancement Program Targeted Local Watersheds
Abstract:
The NC DENR Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP) Planning Group produces two primary products: Watershed Restoration Plans, which identify Targeted Local Watersheds (TLWs) across each of the major river basins; and Local Watershed Plans, which develop comprehensive solutions to local water quality problems within selected local watersheds. [Local Watersheds are synonymous with NRCS 14-digit hydrologic units]. Watershed Restoration Plans for each of the 17 river basins in NC are updated on a five-year planning cycle concurrent with the DENR DWQ Basinwide Water Quality Plans. This 2005 update identifies 335 local watersheds that will be the focus of EEP planning and implementation. The purpose and method of watershed selection are summarized at <http://www.nceep.net/services/restplans/Planning%20Guide.pdf>. The targeted watersheds are further described in each basin restoration plan at <http://www.nceep.net/services/restplans/watershedplans.html>.
Supplemental_Information:
The Ecosystem Enhancement Program issues a companion GIS theme representing local watershed planning areas. The 2004 update was the fourth version of Local Watershed Planning areas. The first was developed in 2001. The boundaries for watersheds are based on 14-digit hydrologic units (hunc.shp). Notes on Hunc.shp include the following: Data from the protected and critical watersheds layer for the state were used during the development of the Hunc boundaries. This coverage supersedes data on past versions, particularly the cama24.hu coverage, which was completed as a preliminary to this statewide version. Some boundaries may have changed between the two versions. There are two additional coverages which were generated from these data, the huncrb-river basins; and huncsb-subbasins files. See the cross references section for details. The following is an excerpt from the "North Carolina Hydrologic Unit River Basin Study," USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, November 1995. Under the sponsorship of the Water Resources Council, a nationally uniform hydrologic unit system was developed in 1974 by the US Geological Survey's Office of Water Data Coordination. This system divides the country into 21 regions, 222 subregions, 352 accounting units, and 2,149 cataloging units, based on surface hydrologic features. A hierarchical code consisting of two digits for each of the above four levels combine to form an eight-digit hydrologic unit. The hydrologic unit system is used to identify any hydrologic area of interest. An eight-digit hydrologic unit generally covers 700 or more square miles. In 1978, the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) issued a policy that all resource inventories and surveys were to be coded with and capable of being retrieved by hydrologic unit codes (HUCs). At about the same time, NRCS initiated a national program to further subdivide HUCs into watershed-sized areas (nominally 250,000 acres, or 390 square miles) for use in water resource planning. An extension of three digits was added to the eight-digit HUC to designate sub-watersheds, thus forming elevin-digit HUCs. This 1995 Hydrologic Unit (HU) Study divides the state river basins and subbasins into smaller fourteen-digit hydrologic units that will be useful in targeting project activities, resource inventories, and reporting conservation activities. These fourteen-digit hydrologic units of approximately 4,000 acres (6 sqare miles) to 50,000 acres (78 square miles) are small enough in size to be useful as a planning and reporting tool for the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and other government and state agencies. This 1995 fourteen-digit HU map will replace the 1974 eight-digit HU map [U.S. Water Resource Council (WRC)] and the 1978 NRCS eleven-digit HU map as the locating tool for planning in NRCS. The 1995 HU map were produced using 7.5 minute USGS quadrangle base maps (1:24,000 scale). 14-digit number breakdown: Assigned by US Water Subunit Reporting Unit (established Resource Council (1978 NRCS) during this study) |---------------------|----------|--------| 0 3 0 6 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 |----|----|-----|-----| | | | | | | | Cataloging Unit Boundary | | Accounting Unit Boundary | Subregional Boundary Regional Boundary NOTE: The subbasin 6-digit code (SUBBASIN#) was developed independently from the hydrologic unit codes, from an entirely different numbering system. (Example of code: 03-03-01.) The first two numbers identify the river basin designations adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency. (Date of source: 1974.) Subbasin boundaries were added within individual river basin boundaries (by the office that is now known as the Division of Water Quality, Water Quality Planning Section). Sequential numbers (example -01) were added by DWQ to the first four-digit EPA code to give each subbasin a unique six-digit identifier. (Each subbasin incorporates three or more hydrologic units. The subbasin boundaries have been modified to be coincident with the hydrologic unit boundaries.) Contact DWQ for more information on the subbasin# code (733-5083). system filename: hunc file size = 1.7 mb This theme and huncrb and huncsb need to be updated whenever hunc is updated) Revisions and updates to the hunc layer include: 4.) filename: hunc1298 The December 1998 update to this layer consisted of projecting the data from NAD27 datum, State Plane projection, units of measure feet TO: NAD83 DATUM, State Plane PROJECTION, UNITS OF MEASURE METERS. This was done to comply with the NC Geographic Information Coordinating Council's "Statement of Direction for North Carolina Corporate Geographic Database Horizontal Reference, Datum and Unit of Measure". This reprojecting was done in various ways depending on the data type and content. Vector data was projected using the 'project' command in ESRI's Arc software and topology was cleaned and built based on coverage needs. Raster data werre projected using ESRI's Grid module and various steps as applicable. 3.)filename: hunc496 The April 15, 1996 update included restoring the Arc Attribute Table (AAT) to the coverage. This was lost while processing the file for river basins and subbasins attributes. It also included names and 6-digit identification numbers added for subbasins as well as names and abbreviations added for river basins. Some minor boundary adjustments were made throughout the coverage to make the Hydrologic Units boundaries coincident with the Water Supply Watershed boundaries. 2.) filename: nc24hu1194 This is the first version of the hydrologic units as studied by NCDWQ and NRCS, statewide. 1.) filename: cam24.hu1194 This file contains only the coastal area of NC, and has been superceded by the full state coverage.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    NC DENR Ecosystem Enhancement Program, 20070101, Ecosystem Enhancement Program Targeted Local Watersheds: USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Raleigh, North Carolina.

    Online Links:

    • www.nconemap.com

    Other_Citation_Details: NCCGIA distributes this dataset

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -84.163127
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.688639
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 36.617155
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 33.734149

  3. What does it look like?

  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

    Calendar_Date: 13-May-2005
    Currentness_Reference: publication date

  5. What is the general form of this data set?

    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data

  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      Indirect_Spatial_Reference: _Method: 14-digit HU id number
      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • G-polygon (369)
      • GT-polygon composed of chains (1602)
      • Node, planar graph (5511)
      • Area point (1601)

    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: State Plane Coordinate System 1983
      State_Plane_Coordinate_System:
      SPCS_Zone_Identifier: 3200
      Lambert_Conformal_Conic:
      Standard_Parallel: 34.333333
      Standard_Parallel: 36.166667
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -79.000000
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 33.750000
      False_Easting: 609601.220000
      False_Northing: 0.000000

      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.002048
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.002048
      Planar coordinates are specified in meters

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    trgtlclwshds
    Targeted Local Watersheds represented by boundaries and unit numbers for the river basins and subbasins in North Carolina. (Source: NC DENR, Ecosystem Enhancement Program)

    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)

    Frequency of measurement: None planned

    Coordinates defining the features.

    HUCODE
    14-digit full HU code (includes hucode, husub, and hurep) (Source: USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service)

    Frequency of measurement: None planned

    Formal codeset
    Codeset Name:Hydrologic Units
    Codeset Source:USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service

    EEP_TLW_2007
    Targeted Local Watersheds Represented by boundaries and unit numbers for the river basins and subbasins in North Carolina (Source: CGIA)

    HUCODE8
    Original 8-digit HU code (Source: USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service)

    Frequency of measurement: As needed

    Formal codeset
    Codeset Name:Hydrologic Units
    Codeset Source:USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service

    SUBBASIN_N
    Name of the subbasin (Source: DENR-Div. of Water Quality)

    Frequency of measurement: As needed

    Unique value for each subbasin

    SUBBASIN_
    Identification number of subbasin (Source: DENR-Div. of Water Quality)

    Frequency of measurement: As needed

    Unique value for each subbasin

    RIVBASIN_N
    River basin name (Source: DENR-Div. of Water Quality)

    Frequency of measurement: As needed

    Unique value for each basin

    SHAPE_AREA
    Area of feature in meters squared. (Source: ESRI)

    Frequency of measurement: None planned

    Positive real numbers that are automatically generated.

    TLW
    Indicates whether the HUC is a targeted local watershed (Source: EEP)

    ValueDefinition
    NoThe HUC is not a targeted local watershed
    YesThe HUC is a targeted local watershed

    LWP
    Indicates if the HUC is part of a local watershed plan (Source: EEP)

    Frequency of measurement: As needed

    ValueDefinition
    YesThe HUC is part of a local watershed plan
    NoThe HUC is not part of a Local Watershed Plan

    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    SHAPE_LENG
    Length of feature in meters. (Source: ESRI)

    Frequency of measurement: None planned

    Positive real numbers that are automatically generated.

    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    A polygon coverage with areas depicting local watershed plans based on the boundaries and unit numbers of the state's river basins and subbasins. The polygon attribute table (PAT) has attribute data including total area in coverage units, total perimeter, polygon internal identification number, polygon user identification number, several NRCS codes indicating HU divisions, acres per polygon, square miles per polygon, the name and identity number of the subbasin, and the name and abbreviated name of the river basin.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: See Cross_Reference item.

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

    Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Ecosystem Enhancement Program USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service North Carolina Center for Geographic Information & Analysis

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    NC DENR Ecosystem Enhancement Program
    c/o Colleen Kiley
    GIS Administrator
    1652 Mail Service Center
    Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1652
    USA

    (919) 716-1921 (voice)
    (919)715-2219 (FAX)
    Colleen.Kiley@ncmail.net

    Hours_of_Service: 8:00am to 5:00pm
    Contact_Instructions: Preferred contact is by email or telephone.

Why was the data set created?

The purpose of this theme is to provide water quality planners and ecosystem planners with a set of watersheds that represent the greatest needs and opportuntiies for watershed restoration.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    None (source 1 of 2)
    USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, 19960415, Hydrologic Units - North Carolina: USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Raleigh, North Carolina.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 24000
    Source_Contribution: Hydrologic units delineations for North Carolina

    None (source 2 of 2)
    Survey, US Geological , 1938-1990, USGS 7.5 Minute series quadrangles: US Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.

    Other_Citation_Details: Published map series
    Type_of_Source_Media: Paper
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 24000
    Source_Contribution: Paper maps used to delineate the hydrologic units

  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

    Date: 30-Nov-1994 (process 1 of 7)
    Hydrologic Units were delineated on USGS 1:24,000 paper topographic maps by following contour lines. HU codes were written onto the topo maps for later attribute coding. All topo maps within the Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) area were given to CGIA for digitization. All other topos across the state were given to Westinghouse-Landmark GIS, Inc. for digitization. The USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service delineated the hydrologic units for North Carolina on 24k USGS topographic maps. The digital files were plotted by CGIA and overlayed to the originals and reviewed by staff at NRCS and DENR-DWQ. Needed corrections were made. Once an agreed upon, digital file was created. DWQ assisted NRCS in modifying certain boundaries which were not at the time coincident with the subbasins that DWQ manages. After that was completed, NRCS met with officials from neighboring states (Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee) to edgematch the Hydrologic Unit boundaries across the state line. This was done to the 11-digit boundary, not the 14-digit. Once this file was complete, DWQ assisted CGIA in establishing new subbasin boundaries derived from HU boundaries, and then established new river basin boundaries derived from subbasin boundaries. This digital file is updated as changes occur.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Sherman Biggerstaff
    USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service
    Planning Engineer
    4405 Bland Road
    Raleigh, North Carolina 27609
    U.S.A.

    (919) 873-2132 (voice)
    (919) 790-2904 (FAX)

    Hours_of_Service: 8:00am to 5:00pm
    Contact_Instructions: Preferred contact is by mail or phone.
    Date: 15-Apr-1996 (process 2 of 7)
    Hydrologic units were digitized from hand delineated boundaries on USGS 7.5 Minute series paper base maps. The digital files were attributed and checkplots were created for review by the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the NC Division of Water Quality. Necessary corrections were made and new plots were run. Post processing involved edgematching and mapjoining of USGS 7.5 Minute series maps used to create the digitized data. This process generated one statewide polygon coverage. CGIA updates the digital file as needed.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    NCCGIA
    301 N. Wilmington Street, Suite 700
    Raleigh, North Carolina 27601-2825
    U.S.A.

    (919) 733-2090 (voice)
    (919)715-0725 (FAX)
    dataq@ncmail.net

    Hours_of_Service: 8am to 5pm
    Contact_Instructions: Phone and electronic mail preferred
    Date: 30-Nov-1994 (process 3 of 7)
    Delineated hydrologic unit boudaries on 24k topographic maps were given to Westinghouse-Landmark GIS, Inc. by the NRCS. The HU boundaries were hand-digitized and combined into on file. After some review by NRCS and DWQ, this file was given to NCCGIA where it was joined to the existing 24 counties of coastal HU data. This file was then checked by NRCS and DWQ staff. Corrections were made.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    William Moore
    Westinghouse-Landmark GIS, Inc.
    GIS Dept. Supervisor
    1903 North Harrison Avenue
    Cary, North Carolina 27513
    U.S.A.

    (919) 677-0040 (voice)
    (919) 677-0942 (FAX)

    Hours_of_Service: 8:30AM - 5:30PM
    Contact_Instructions: Phone preferred
    Date: 21-Jan-2004 (process 4 of 7)
    Process_Description: The Ecosystem Enhancement Program identified targeted local watersheds and related those plans and to hydrologic units. Contact NC Ecosystem Enhancement Program for Targeted Local Watershed selection process. Targeted Local Watersheds were manually selected from USGS 14-digit HUC shapefile and exported to this layer.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Colleen Kiley
    NC DENR, Ecosystem Enhancement Program
    Colleen Kiley
    1652 Mail Service Center
    Raleigh, NC 27699-1652
    USA

    (919) 716-1921 (voice)
    Colleen.Kiley@ncmail.net

    Hours_of_Service: 9:00 to 5:00
    Contact_Instructions: Email or phone preferred
    Date: 13-May-2005 (process 5 of 7)
    Metadata imported.

    Date: 13-May-2005 (process 6 of 7)
    Dataset copied. Data set updated for 2005.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Colleen Kiley
    NC DENR Ecosystem Enhancement Program
    Colleen Kiley
    MSC 1652
    Raleigh, NC 27603
    US

    (919) 716-1921 (voice)
    (919) 715-2219 (FAX)
    Colleen.Kiley@ncmail.net

    Date: 02-May-2007 (process 7 of 7)
    Dataset updated for 2007. Three new 14-digit HUCs were added.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Mike Herrmann
    EEP
    Watershed Planner
    1619 Mail Service Center
    Raleigh, NC 27699-1619
    USA

    919-715-5458 (voice)
    Michael.Herrmann@ncmail.net

    Hours_of_Service: 9:00 to 5:00
    Contact_Instructions: Email or phone preferred
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

    USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, 199511, North Carolina Cooperative Hydrologic Unit River Basin Study: USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Raleigh, North Carolina.

    USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, 199506, NRCS National Bulletin #170-304 Mapping and Digitizing Watershed and sub-watershed hydrologic unit boundaries: USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Washington D.C. PO Box 2890 20013.

    USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, 19981201, Hydrologic Units NC - River Basins: North Carolina Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, Raleigh, North Carolina.

    Online Links:

    • www.nconemap.com

    Other_Citation_Details: NCCGIA compiled this layer from the hydrologic units data.
    USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, 19981201, Hydrologic Units NC - Subbasins: North Carolina Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, Raleigh, North Carolina.

    Online Links:

    • www.nconemap.com

    Other_Citation_Details: NCCGIA compiled this layer from the hydrologic units data.

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?

    The USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service delineated the hydrologic units for North Carolina on 24k USGS topographic maps. These boundaries were attributed with USDA-NRCS classification information, acres per polygon, and square miles per polygon. The digital files were plotted and overlayed to the originals and linework and label corrections were made. Once complete and under the direction of DENR-DWQ, the digital file was further defined by subbasins derived from HUs and the river basins derived by subbasins. Appropiate ids were added to the attribute files. Attribute accuracy is considered high. There are no lookup tables, annotation or cartosets for this data.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    Hydrologic Units for North Carolina were delineated on 7.5 Minute USGS paper topographic maps which meet National Map Accuracy Standards, using a best estimate with reference to surrounding features. Boundaries drawn were digitized and checkplots were used to ensure correct boundary location, within a line-width.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

    These data depict the boundaries and unit numbers from the USDA-NRCS Hydrologic Unit River Basin Study, 1995. The study divides the state river basins into subbasins used to track resource and conservation activities. The Ecosystem Enhancement Program is a statewide program and completed work on the attributes in early 2004.

  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

    Using ESRI's ARC/INFO GIS software, the data set of watershed boundaries was built for arc and polygon topology using the "build" command. The data set was then cleaned with a fuzzy tolerance of 1 foot. Topology has not been edited since the last build or clean. The Ecosystem Enhancement Program selected hydrologic units relating to local watershed plans and added fields to describe the plans.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
Acknowledgement of products derived from this data set should cite the following: The source of the North Carolina Targeted Local Watersheds data is the Ecosystem Enhancement Program. Earlier versions of this dataset may exist. The user must be sure to use the appropriate data set for the time period of interest. While efforts have been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the state of the art, EEP and CGIA cannot assume liability for any damages or misrepresentation caused by any inaccuracies in the data or as a result of changes to the data caused by system transfers. A secondary source of this data is the NC Corporate Geographic Database. Data derived from this set should cite the following: The source of the EEP Local Watershed Plans is the North Carolina data is the North Carolina Corporate Geographic Database on behalf of the Ecosystem Enhancement Program. Earlier versions of this data set may exist. The user must be sure to use the appropriate data set for the time period of interest. While efforts have been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the state of the art, CGIA cannot assume liability for any damages or misrepresentation caused by any inaccuracies in the data or as a result of changes to the data caused by system transfers.

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)

    NC Center for Geographic Information and Analysis
    Production Services
    301 N. Wilmington Street, Suite 700
    Raleigh, North Carolina 27601-2825
    U.S.A.

    (919) 733-2090 (voice)
    (919)715-0725 (FAX)
    dataq@ncmail.net

    Hours_of_Service: 8am to 5pm
    Contact_Instructions: Phone and electronic mail preferred
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

    Type A Water Systems

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    NCCGIA is charged with the development and maintenance of NC OneMap and, in cooperation with other mapping organizations, is committed to offering its users accurate, useful, and current information. Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information, errors and conditions originating from physical sources used to develop this dataset may be reflected in the data supplied. The user must be aware of possible conditions and bear responsibility for the appropriate use of the information with respect to possible errors, original map scale, collection methodology, currency of data, and other conditions specific to certain data. NCCGIA does not support secondary distribution of this dataset without its current, compliant metadata record. The use of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by NCCGIA or North Carolina State Government.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

  5. Is there some other way to get the data?

    Data can be customized on a cost-recovery basis. Contact dataq@ncmail.net or 919-733-2090 for more information.

  6. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?

    All formats available from www.nconemap.com are in ESRI shapefile. Other formats are available on a cost-recovery basis - contact dataq@ncmail.net or 919.733.2090 for more information. Format compatibility is the user's responsibility.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 02-May-2007
Last Reviewed: 30-May-2007
Metadata author:
North Carolina Center for Geographic Information and Analysis
c/o David Giordano
Database Administration
301 N. Wilmington Street, Suite 700
Raleigh, North Carolina 27601-2825
U.S.A.

(919) 733-2090 (voice)
(919)715-0725 (FAX)
dataq@ncmail.net

Hours_of_Service: 8am to 5pm
Contact_Instructions: Phone and electronic mail preferred
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)

Generated by mp version 2.9.5 on Wed Aug 27 10:32:07 2008