ERF1_2 -- Enhanced River Reach File 2.0

Release Date

2002-02-22

Time Period

1999-01-07

Publication Date

2023-09-15

Nolan, J.V., Brakebill, J.W., Alexander, R.B., and Schwarz, G.E., 2002, ERF1_2 -- Enhanced River Reach File 2.0: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9JVHVND.

This report describes the process of enhancements to the stream reach network, ERF1, which is an enhanced version of EPA's RF1. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's reach file (RF1) is a database of interconnected stream segments or reaches that comprise the surface water drainage system for the United States. A variety of attributes have been assigned to each reach in support of spatial analysis and mapping applications (see USEPA, 1996; http://www.epa.gov/waters/doc/rf1_meta.html). ERF1_2 was designed to be a digital database of river reaches capable of supporting regional and national water-quality and river-flow modeling by the water-resources community. ERF1, on which ERF1_2 is based, is used at the U.S. Geological Survey to support national-level water-quality modeling with the SPARROW approach (see Alexander and others, 2000; Smith and others, 1997). In the current and earlier analyses, the reach network is used to determine flow pathways between sources of point and nonpoint pollutants (e.g., fertilizer use, municipal wastewater discharges) and downstream water-quality monitoring locations in support of predictive water-quality models of stream nutrient transport. Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank Richard Smith, a co-developer of the SPARROW approach, Kristine Verdin, and Stephen Char, all of the U.S. Geological Survey, for providing technical assistance. The reviewers of this report, Dave Stewart, and Mike Wieczorek, are also acknowledged for their significant contributions.

• Model Data Management Function (MDMF)