CSV Format Metadata Description for Station Reference Index

Station Number

The unique 7-character station identification, in the format ddaaddd, where

• dd: 2 digits for the major drainage basin
• aa: 1 alphabetic character each for the sub-basin and sub-sub-basin
• ddd: 3 digits for the specific station within the sub-sub-basin

Water Course

Flag to indicate the relative location of a reach of stream, river or canal within the larger river system.

Latitude / Longitude

Positions are presented in degrees, minutes and seconds with latitudes north of the equator represented as positive values and longitudes east of the Prime Meridian represented as positive values.

Gross Drainage Area

Gross drainage area, in km². The gross drainage area refers to the largest possible physical area that could potentially contribute surface runoff to the specific station.

Effective Drainage Area

Effective drainage area, in km². The effective drainage area is that portion of a drainage basin which might be expected to entirely contribute runoff to the main stream during a flood with a return period of two years.

Land Description

A written description of a specific piece of land.

Year From / Year To

Period of record, in the format yyyy.

Data Type

Flag to indicate the type of data available with the station

• Q: discharge (flow)
• H: water level
• B: discharge and water level

Gauge Type

Flag to indicate the type of gauge used to obtain data

• R: recording gauge
• M: manual gauge
• P: power plant rating

Operation Schedule

Flag to indicate the frequency of data recording, year-round, only during certain seasons, or some other pattern.

• C: Continuous
• S: Seasonal
• M: Miscellaneous

Published

Flag to indicate if the data are published.

• 1: Data not published

Station Class

Flag to indicate the type of a station

• 2 = International Gauging Station
• 3 = Reservoir Contents
• 4 = Water Temperature Data Available
• 5 = Water Quality Data Available
• 6 = Sediment Data Available
• 7 = Telemetering Device Installed

River Type

Flag to indicate if the flow is affected by the upstream regulation

• NAT = Natural Flow
• REG = Regulated Flow

Regulated Since

Flag to indicate the year that the regulation began.

Contributed By

Flag to indicate if the archived data for a specific station is contributed by an agency. The agency is non-WSC and is given a code, e.g. DC 485.

DC = Data Contributed By

Costing Agency

Flag to indicate the funding agency of a station.