dataRetrieval

The dataRetrieval package was created to simplify the process of loading hydrologic data into the R environment. It is designed to retrieve the major data types of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hydrology data that are available on the Web, as well as data from the Water Quality Portal (WQP), which currently houses water quality data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and USGS. Direct USGS data is obtained from a service called the National Water Information System (NWIS).

For complete tutorial information, see:

https://rconnect.usgs.gov/dataRetrieval/

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/blog/dataretrieval/

Sample Workflow

USGS

library(dataRetrieval)
# Choptank River near Greensboro, MD
siteNumber <- "01491000"
ChoptankInfo <- readNWISsite(siteNumber)
parameterCd <- "00060"

# Raw daily data:
rawDailyData <- readNWISdv(
  siteNumber, parameterCd,
  "1980-01-01", "2010-01-01"
)

# Sample data Nitrate:
parameterCd <- "00618"
qwData <- readNWISqw(
  siteNumber, parameterCd,
  "1980-01-01", "2010-01-01"
)

pCode <- readNWISpCode(parameterCd)

Water Quality Portal

specificCond <- readWQPqw(
  siteNumbers = "WIDNR_WQX-10032762",
  parameterCd = "Specific conductance",
  startDate = "2011-05-01",
  endDate = "2011-09-30"
)

Network Linked Data Index

features <- findNLDI(
  nwis = "01491000",
  nav = "UT",
  find = c("basin", "wqp")
)

Installation of dataRetrieval

To install the dataRetrieval package, you must be using R 3.0 or greater and run the following command:

install.packages("dataRetrieval")

To get cutting-edge changes, install from GitHub using the remotes packages:

library(remotes)
install_github("DOI-USGS/dataRetrieval",
               build_vignettes = TRUE, 
               build_opts = c("--no-resave-data",
                              "--no-manual"))

Reporting bugs

Please consider reporting bugs and asking questions on the Issues page: https://github.com/DOI-USGS/dataRetrieval/issues

Citing dataRetrieval

citation(package = "dataRetrieval")
#> 
#> To cite dataRetrieval in publications, please use:
#> 
#>   De Cicco, L.A., Hirsch, R.M., Lorenz, D., Watkins, W.D., Johnson, M.,
#>   2022, dataRetrieval: R packages for discovering and retrieving water
#>   data available from Federal hydrologic web services, v.2.7.12,
#>   doi:10.5066/P9X4L3GE
#> 
#> A BibTeX entry for LaTeX users is
#> 
#>   @Manual{,
#>     author = {Laura A. {De Cicco} and David Lorenz and Robert M. Hirsch and William Watkins and Mike Johnson},
#>     title = {dataRetrieval: R packages for discovering and retrieving water data available from U.S. federal hydrologic web services},
#>     publisher = {U.S. Geological Survey},
#>     address = {Reston, VA},
#>     version = {2.7.12},
#>     institution = {U.S. Geological Survey},
#>     year = {2022},
#>     doi = {10.5066/P9X4L3GE},
#>     url = {https://code.usgs.gov/water/dataRetrieval},
#>   }

Package Support

The Water Mission Area of the USGS supports the development and maintenance of dataRetrieval, and most likely further into the future. Resources are available primarily for maintenance and responding to user questions. Priorities on the development of new features are determined by the dataRetrieval development team. This software was last released with USGS record: IP-147158.

Disclaimer

This software is preliminary or provisional and is subject to revision. It is being provided to meet the need for timely best science. The software has not received final approval by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). No warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS or the U.S. Government as to the functionality of the software and related material nor shall the fact of release constitute any such warranty. The software is provided on the condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government shall be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the software.