Hi, my name is Laura Flight and I am a Hydrologic Technician in the Augusta, Maine Office.
This screen-cast video shows how to do a control inspection in SWAMI.
A control inspection should be done for all visits to a surface water gage.
To do a control inspection, from the "Site Visit Tasks" screen in SWAMI, select the "Control
Inspection" button.
The screen will now show a "Streamflow Control Inspection" window.
The first field is a pick-list for the control type.
You can select either "Channel", "Section," or "Combined chan/sect".
Refer to Water Supply Paper 2175 (also known as "Rantz") pages 10-11, and 286-287 for a
description of control types.
Let's select "Section" for this example.
The next field is the "Distance to the gage in feet."
Remember, the gage is the monitoring point in the river, not the location of the gage
house, so distances should be referenced from where the river's stage is measured, such
as at the orifice cap, intake pipe, radar, or other sensor.
For our section control in this example, the riffle is 50 feet downstream of the orifice.
If a "channel" control type is selected, a distance does not need to be entered because
the control is the channel geometry through the reach itself, and not a defined location
that is a measurable distance from the gaging location.
The next field is the "Control Cleaned" pick-list.
For now let's assume we did not clean the control, so I will select "No".
Below that is the "Control Condition" pick-list.
Select the control condition that best represents the status of the control.
For this example, let's assume our control is clear.
The last part of a control inspection is the "Comment" field.
This field should be used to elaborate on observations and to describe unusual conditions.
A good rule of thumb is that a comment should be added anytime the control condition is
something other than "Clear."
A picture of the control is also recommended no matter its condition.
Let's now assume our section control was not clear.
From the "Control Condition" pick-list we would select the condition that most appropriately
describes the situation.
For this example, let's select moderate debris because we found a log on the section control.
Descriptors such as "heavy", "moderate", and "light" for debris and alga conditions are
subjective.
Additional remarks should be made in the "Comment" field.
In this case information such as diameter and length of the log.
Pictures are also recommended.
From the control condition pick list you will also see "Fill control changed" and "scour
control changed" conditions as options.
These are important for later developing shifts and ratings for measurements.
If one of these options is selected, additional supporting information such as a measured
Gage height of Zero Flow should also be done.
See the GZF inspection screen-cast video for more information on documenting a GZF in SWAMI.
If we removed the log from the control, we would select "Yes" from the "Control Cleaned"
pick-list.
A new property appears to note the "Time Cleaned."
Clicking on the blue "Time Cleaned" label will populate the field with the current time.
Alternatively, you can click in the box and enter a time manually.
The addition of remarks in the "Comment" field is recommended if the control is cleaned to
describe what was done.
Unfortunately, there is only one control condition in SWAMI and per site visit.
Therefore it should represent the control condition in relation to the gage height that
is assigned to the discharge measurement because this is the control condition that will be
assigned to the discharge measurement in GRSAT used for rating and shift analysis.
For example, if a measurement was made with the log on the control, the control condition
should remain "Moderate debris."
If the log was removed and then a measurement was made, the control condition should be
changed to "Clear."
In this case, it is very important to note in the control and measurement comments that
the control was found with moderate debris, but the measurement was made under clear control
conditions.
The "Control Cleaned" status should remain "Yes" and the "time cleaned" as noted.
If you have questions on the process of a control inspection in SWAMI, please contact
the SWAMI help group at the e-mail address shown, or visit the FCIS website at the address
shown.