To provide an alternative to the native NHD measuring system of percentage of distance along reach length with one that enhances the ability to examine distance relationships along entire stream courses.

The USGS National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) Downloadable Data Collection from The National Map (TNM) is a comprehensive set of digital spatial data that encodes information about naturally occurring and constructed bodies of surface water (lakes, ponds, and reservoirs), paths through which water flows (canals, ditches, streams, and rivers), and related entities such as point features (springs, wells, stream gages, and dams). The information encoded about these features includes classification and other characteristics, delineation, geographic name, position and related measures, a "reach code" through which other information can be related to the NHD, and the direction of water flow. The network of reach codes delineating water and transported material flow allows users to trace movement in upstream and downstream directions. In addition to this geographic information, the dataset contains metadata that supports the exchange of future updates and improvements to the data. The NHD supports many applications, such as making maps, geocoding observations, flow modeling, data maintenance, and stewardship. For additional information on NHD, go to https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/ngp/national-hydrography.

DWR was the steward for NHD and Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) in California. We worked with other organizations to edit and improve NHD and WBD, using the business rules for California. California's NHD improvements were sent to USGS for incorporation into the national database. The most up-to-date products are accessible from the USGS website. Please note that the California portion of the National Hydrography Dataset is appropriate for use at the 1:24,000 scale.

For additional derivative products and resources, including the major features in geopackage format, please go to this page: https://data.cnra.ca.gov/dataset/nhd-major-features Archives of previous statewide extracts of the NHD going back to 2018 may be found at https://data.cnra.ca.gov/dataset/nhd-archive.

In September 2022, USGS officially notified DWR that the NHD would become static as USGS resources will be devoted to the transition to the new 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP). 3DHP will consist of LiDAR-derived hydrography at a higher resolution than NHD. Upon completion, 3DHP data will be easier to maintain, based on a modern data model and architecture, and better meet the requirements of users that were documented in the Hydrography Requirements and Benefits Study (2016). The initial releases of 3DHP will be the NHD data cross-walked into the 3DHP data model. It will take several years for the 3DHP to be built out for California. Please refer to the resources on this page for more information.

The FINAL,STATIC version of the National Hydrography Dataset for California was published for download by USGS on December 27, 2023. This dataset can no longer be edited by the state stewards.

Questions about the California stewardship of these datasets may be directed to nhd_stewardship@water.ca.gov.

Notes: As of June 2020 this dataset has been static for several years. Recent versions of NHD High Res may be more detailed than this dataset for some areas, while this dataset may still be more detailed than NHD High Res in other areas. This dataset is considered authoritative as used by CDFW for particular tracking purposes but may not be current or comprehensive for all streams in the state.National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) high resolution NHDFlowline features for California were originally dissolved on common GNIS_ID or StreamLevel* attributes and routed from mouth to headwater in meters. The results are measured polyline features representing entire streams. Routes on these streams are measured upstream, i.e., the measure at the mouth of a stream is zero and at the upstream end the measure matches the total length of the stream feature. Using GIS tools, a user of this dataset can retrieve the distance in meters upstream from the mouth at any point along a stream feature.** CA_Streams_v3 Update Notes: This version includes over 200 stream modifications and additions resulting from requests for updating from CDFW staff and others***. New locator fields from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) have been added for v3 to enhance user's ability to search for or extract subsets of California Streams by hydrologic area. *See the Source Citation section of this metadata for further information on NHD, WBD, NHDFlowline, GNIS_ID and StreamLevel. **See the Data Quality section of this metadata for further explanation of stream feature development. ***Some current NHD data has not yet been included in CA_Streams. The effort to synchronize CA_Streams with NHD is ongoing.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife California Streams and Rivers. feature service.

Changes to instream flow are known to be one of the major factors that affect the health of biological communities. Flow alteration can degrade physical habitat and alter water quality, reducing the ability of a stream to support aquatic life. Understanding the relationship between changes in flow and changes in benthic invertebrate communities (a key indicator of stream health) is critical to informing decisions about ecosystem vulnerability, identifying causes of stream and watershed degradation, and setting priorities for future watershed management. Among the range of approaches available for setting flow targets that support biological integrity, a recently completed project in southern California evaluated the Ecological Limits of Hydrologic Alteration (ELOHA) framework to assess the effect of flow alteration on the condition of benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) communities across the region. The ELOHA framework establishes recommended targets using a process that includes estimation of flow alteration and development of flow-ecology relationships based on the response of biological communities to changes in flow. This project applied to the ELOHA framework to develop regional flow-ecology relationships and targets based on responses in the benthic macroinvertebrate community. The objectives of this project were: 1) Develop a recommended set of flow targets for southern California streams that would maximize the likelihood of maintaining healthy biological communities as indicated by the California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) for benthic invertebrates. 2) Produce a set of tools that can be readily applied to future sites to estimate hydrologic alteration relative to biologically-define targets. This project was led by the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) and developed flow-ecology relationships using data from nearly 600 bioassessment sites sampled over the past eight years. The California Stream Condition Index (CSCI), a measure of biological condition based on benthic macroinvertebrate communities, was calculated at each of these sites (for more information on the CSCI, refer to the CSCI Fact Sheet and the Bioassessment scores map that shows statewide CSCI scores and stream hydrologic classifications). The degree of hydrologic alteration at each of these sites was assessed by comparing estimates of present-day and historical flows using a set of regionally calibrated hydrologic models. Differences from historic flow conditions were compared to CSCI scores to estimate the probability of good biological conditions along gradients of increasing hydrologic alteration. The datasets presented here provide the biological and flow metrics calculated for each site to develop recommended flow targets and management priorities at those sites. For more information, please refer the final report for this project, available here.

This data set includes 28 physical watershed attributes for each of 135,118 stream segments (National Hydrodraphy Dataset, Version 1) in California. These data were used to support a report entitled: "Classification of California streams using combined deductive and inductive approaches: setting the foundation for analysis of hydrologic alteration" authored by Pyne, Carlisle, Konrad, and Stein, and published in the journal Ecohydrology. Specifically, these data were used in a classification (ie, cluster) analysis to identify unique groupings of watersheds with similar hydrological characteristics.

California Public Resources Code, Chapter 1.4. California Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, Section 5093.50. It is the policy of the State of California that certain rivers which possess extraordinary scenic, recreational, fishery, or wildlife values shall be preserved in their free-flowing state, together with their immediate environments, for the benefit and enjoyment of the people of the state. The Legislature declares that such use of these rivers is the highest and most beneficial use and is a reasonable and beneficial use of water within the meaning of Section 2 of Article X of the California Constitution. It is the purpose of this chapter to create a California Wild and Scenic Rivers System to be administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Revisions will be conducted on an as-needed basis reflecting additions or amendments to the California Public Resources Code or significant changes to the National Hydrography Dataset NHDFlowline.

The State of California Wild, Scenic, and Recreational (WSR) Rivers dataset consists of designated California waterways specified in the California Public Resources Code. Waterway segments are identified by the California Public Resources Code and delineated by the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD). Federally designated WSR streams are not included in this dataset. This version differs from former versions in that it 1) coincides with the NHD flowline feature segments and identifiers, and 2) only includes those California streams that are designated wild, scenic, recreational, or other special case per the California Public Resources Code (PRC) Sections 5093.50 - 5093.71. Federally designated WSR streams are not included in this dataset. This dataset contains point features identifying endpoints of designated Wild and Scenic Rivers with USGS HydroLink attributes.

Department of Water Resources (DWR) makes no warranties or guarantees - either expressed or implied - as to the completeness, accuracy, or correctness of the data herein (subject data). DWR neither accepts nor assumes liability arising from or for any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading subject data or reproductions of the subject data. Users are prohibited from any commercial, non-free resale, or redistribution without explicit written permission from DWR. Users should acknowledge DWR as the source used in the creation of any reports, publications, new data sets, derived products, or services resulting from the use of the subject data. DWR expressly disclaims any responsibility to defend or indemnify users against claims of others based on users’ copying, reliance, distribution, or other use of any of the subject data.

The subject data includes data from National Hydrography Dataset. Any data from U.S. Government sources is subject to any conditions, disclaimers, or other restrictions specified by the sources.

Changes to instream flow are known to be one of the major factors that affect the health of biological communities. Flow alteration can degrade physical habitat and alter water quality, reducing the ability of a stream to support aquatic life. Understanding the relationship between changes in flow and changes in benthic invertebrate communities (a key indicator of stream health) is critical to informing decisions about ecosystem vulnerability, identifying causes of stream and watershed degradation, and setting priorities for future watershed management.

Among the range of approaches available for setting flow targets that support biological integrity, a recently completed project in southern California evaluated the Ecological Limits of Hydrologic Alteration (ELOHA) framework to assess the effect of flow alteration on the condition of benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) communities across the region. The ELOHA framework establishes recommended targets using a process that includes estimation of flow alteration and development of flow-ecology relationships based on the response of biological communities to changes in flow. This project applied to the ELOHA framework to develop regional flow-ecology relationships and targets based on responses in the benthic macroinvertebrate community. The objectives of this project were: 1) Develop a recommended set of flow targets for southern California streams that would maximize the likelihood of maintaining healthy biological communities as indicated by the California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) for benthic invertebrates. 2) Produce a set of tools that can be readily applied to future sites to estimate hydrologic alteration relative to biologically-define targets.

This project was led by the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) and developed flow-ecology relationships using data from nearly 600 bioassessment sites sampled over the past eight years. The California Stream Condition Index (CSCI), a measure of biological condition based on benthic macroinvertebrate communities, was calculated at each of these sites (for more information on the CSCI, refer to the CSCI Fact Sheet and the Bioassessment scores map that shows statewide CSCI scores and stream hydrologic classifications). The degree of hydrologic alteration at each of these sites was assessed by comparing estimates of present-day and historical flows using a set of regionally calibrated hydrologic models. Differences from historic flow conditions were compared to CSCI scores to estimate the probability of good biological conditions along gradients of increasing hydrologic alteration.

The datasets presented here provide the biological and flow metrics calculated for each site to develop recommended flow targets and management priorities at those sites. For more information, please refer the final report for this project, available here.

The California Water Boards’ Water Data Center is proud to present the CA Water Quality Status Report. This report is an annual data-driven snapshot of the Water Board's water quality and environmental data. This inaugural version of the report is based solely on the surface water datasets available via the Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP) and in future years we hope to expand this to include the groundwater, drinking water and water resource datasets available in our state. Our goal is to use data to inform both data storytelling (as in this inaugural report) and water quality indicators, including watershed report cards. The 2017 Water Quality Status Report is organized around seven major themes that our team thought both individually and collectively tell important stories about the overall health of our state’s surface waters. Each theme-specific story includes a brief background, a data analysis summary, an overview of management actions, and access to the raw data. For more information please contact the Office of Information Management and Analysis (OIMA). Data for the section “Setting Flow Targets to Support Biological Integrity in Southern California Streams” can be found on the California open data portal. Data for the section “Nutrients and Algae in Aquatic Ecosystems” can be found here.

This mapping tool provides a representation of the general watershed boundaries for stream systems declared fully appropriated by the State Water Board. The boundaries were created by Division of Water Rights staff by delineating FASS critical reaches and consolidating HUC 12 sub-watersheds to form FASS Watershed boundaries. As such, the boundaries are in most cases conservative with respect to the associated stream system. However, users should check neighboring FASS Watersheds to ensure the stream system of interest is not restricted by other FASS listings. For more information regarding the Declaration of Fully Appropriated Stream Systems, visit the Division of Water Rights’ Fully Appropriated Streams webpage. How to Use the Interactive Mapping Tool: If it is your first time viewing the map, you will need to click the “OK” box on the splash screen and agree to the disclaimer before continuing. Navigate to your point of interest by either using the search bar or by zooming in on the map. You may enter a stream name, street address, or watershed ID in the search bar. Click on the map to identify the location of interest and one or more pop-up boxes may appear with information about the fully appropriated stream systems within the general watershed boundaries of the identified location. The information provided in the pop-up box may include: (a) stream name, (b) tributary, (c) season declared fully appropriated, (d) Board Decisions/Water Right Orders, and/or (e) court references/adjudications. You may toggle the FAS Streams reference layer on and off to find representative critical reaches associated with the FASS Watershed layer. Please note that this layer is for general reference purposes only and ultimately the critical reach listed in Appendix A of Water Rights Order 98-08 and Appendix A together with any associated footnotes controls. Note: A separate FAS Watershed boundary layer was created for the Bay-Delta Watershed. The Bay-Delta Watershed layer should be toggled on to check if the area of interest is fully appropriated under State Water Board Decision 1594.

This dataset represents state designated wild, scenic, and recreational (WSR) streams per California Public Resources Code. The line segments used for this dataset were derived from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) "California Streams" dataset which is based on National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) High Resolution data. Information regarding the "California Streams" dataset is described in that datasets documentation. FEDERALLY DESIGNATED WSR STREAMS ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS DATASET.

This polyline shapefile depicts all National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) streams falling within the urban areas of the nine county San Francisco Bay Area Region, California (as defined by the California Department of Conversation Farming Mapping and Monitoring Program). To create this layer, a simple clip was performed using the 2008 Farming Mapping and Monitoring Program Urban layer. This was useful to the Fish and Riparian Focus Team to give the Team an idea of how many miles of creeks fall in urban areas and their general locations.

The shapefile is based on habitat unit level data summarized at the stream reach level. The database represents salmonid stream habitat surveys from 645 streams of the California North Coast Hydrologic Region (Calwater 2.2.1) from 1989 to 2003 with most effort in 1995 and 1996. Approximately 1,622 miles of streams were surveyed. The data were collected by Department of Fish and Game and contractors according to the version of the "California Stream Habitat Restoration Manual" that was current in the year of survey (see References). The methods used in the 1991 edition were used until the 1994 edition was released. Two important differences are that the 1994 version incorporated a revised stream channel classification system, affecting the way stream reaches are described and a protocol for large woody debris was added. The third edition (Flosi et al. 1998) is available on-line. Habitat typing follows a modified version of the system described in Bisson et al, 1982. Stream channel typing follows Rosgen 1994, beginning with the 1995 field season. The database helps identify and describe in-stream habitat available to anadromous salmonids within watersheds surveyed. WHAT EACH RECORD REPRESENTS Each record represents in-stream habitat unit attributes summarized at the stream reach level. A habitat unit is the base level for the stream habitat surveys and is generally determined by the occurrence of riffle, run and pool sections along the stream. Stream reaches are determined by changes in stream channel type as described by Rosgen (1994)

These data are from joint visual encounter and environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys conducted for northwestern pond turtles (Actinemys marmorata) in streams on privately-owned timberlands in northern California.

The Passage Assessment Database (PAD) geospatial file contains locations of known and potential barriers to salmonid migration in California streams with additional information about each record. The PAD is an ongoing map-based inventory of known and potential barriers to anadromous fish in California, compiled and maintained through a cooperative interagency agreement. The PAD compiles currently available fish passage information from many different sources, allows past and future barrier assessments to be standardized and stored in one place, and enables the analysis of cumulative effects of passage barriers in the context of overall watershed health. The database is set up to capture basic information about each potential barrier. It is designed to be flexible. As the database grows, other modules may be added to increase data detail and complexity. For the PAD to be useful as a restoration tool, the data within the PAD need to accurately depict the on-the ground reality of fish passage constraints. This requires the PAD to retrieve new barrier data and updates to existing sites and to have verified and vetted the information it receives. In 2013, new PAD data standards were designed to standardize this process and refine the data in PAD making the data more robust. They were further refined in 2014 and 2021. The data standards have been combined into one document with the PAD methodology which describes the database structure, data collection procedures and data quality and limitations, and is available online at: https://nrmsecure.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=78802. In the future, the new standards will be implemented for all existing records. If after reading the metadata, additional details about the PAD project are needed, please visit the CalFish website at www.calfish.org/PAD. To send comments about data issues, corrections, edits or to map a new barrier location not yet reported in the PAD please send an email to: Anne.Elston@wildlife.ca.gov. New as of 2020: This feature classes identifies species and life stages that may be blocked or otherwise not blocked by structures and sites. It identifies if it blocks upstream or downstream migration or both. Since one structure/site can be a barrier to more than one species or block a species and not another species there may be multiple records at each site. Please note that these are not duplicates and each site/structure has a unique PAD ID and Passage ID. Preferred citation: California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Passage Assessment Database, December 2023.

Analysis of ‘Wild and Scenic Rivers (State Designations Only), California [ds950]’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/e07f8082-a8f6-4e93-b032-c82eefc3ae8b on 27 January 2022.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

This dataset represents state designated wild, scenic, and recreational (WSR) streams per California Public Resources Code. The line segments used for this dataset were derived from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) "California Streams" dataset which is based on National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) High Resolution data. Information regarding the "California Streams" dataset is described in that datasets documentation. FEDERALLY DESIGNATED WSR STREAMS ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS DATASET.

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

This polyline shapefile depicts waterways and bodies of water in the County of San Mateo. This layer is part of a collection of GIS data for San Mateo County, California.

The California Water Quality Status Report is an annual data-driven snapshot of the Water Board’s water quality and ecosystem data. This second edition of the report is organized around the watershed from land to sea. Each theme-specific story includes a brief background, a data analysis summary, an overview of management actions, and access to the raw data.

View the 2018 California Water Quality Status Report.

• Data for Fig. 8 Landscape Constraints on Stream Biological Integrity in the San Gabriel River Watershed can be downloaded from Zenodo.
• Data for Fig. 13 HAB Incident Reports Map can be downloaded from the California Open Data Portal.

For more information please contact the Office of Information Management and Analysis (OIMA).

The scope of data covered in this set consists of 4984 stream samples from 2997 unique geographic locations across the state of California, constituting a 23-year period (1994-2016). Every sample contains the following data: benthic macroinvertebrates (BMIs) enumerated and sorted to a standardized level (generally a genus-level identification except chironomids which were identified to subfamily), sample site altitude in meters, U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Unit Code 8 level watershed, and the percent developed land use (agricultural, urban, and managed landscapes) within a 5 km clipped buffer of the watershed upstream of the sampling site, and a bioassessment index score (California Stream Conditions Index) based on a composite of taxonomic and functional diversity within BMI assemblages.