Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How to find or locate:

General Water Atlas Information

Recreational Information

Data (water quality, hydrology, bathymetry) Information

Adopt-A-Pond Information

Mapping Capabilities Information

Mapping Application Help

General Water Atlas Information

Q.      How do I obtain information pertaining to water quality and lake levels when it is not currently available on the Water Atlas site?

A.        It is important to keep in mind that data appearing in the water body, water quality and hydrology pages are summaries of data for that water body. Data for individual locations on the water body are not presented in the summary boxes of the Water Atlas pages in order to avoid crowding the page. A general overview of conditions is presented.

The first option is to use the Data Download tool found in the Research section on the Water Atlas. However, if you cannot find the data needed via the download tool, you can write to the Water Atlas Faculty at University of South Florida and the County Water Atlas partner with one email. Here's how:

If not already open, choose the Water Atlas pertaining to your question through the Water Atlas program main page (http://www.wateratlas.usf.edu/) and navigate to the Water Atlas of interest, for example, Hillsborough County.  From the home page, you can click the button that is found at the bottom of the navigation table in the center of the page.

Figure 1 - Navigation Table

The Contact Us button is also found in the upper navigation bar (header) on all Atlas pages.  When you click Contact Us, you will be routed to a comments page with five (5) comment form options;

·        Comment on the website

·        Ask a question about data

·        Report illegal dumping or a curious incident

·        Contribute historical information

·        Become a volunteer

The second contact form in the list, Ask a question about data, is a form that the user can fill out with their specific questions regarding water quality, hydrology, ecology, etc. data.  This form is then sent to the project manager at the Florida Center as well as the County staff who oversee that particular Atlas.  A staff member from either entity will respond to the question via email.

Q.       Who can I contact to learn more about sink holes, sink hole activity and the possibility of sink holes forming in my area?

A.        Contact the water management district for your area (links below):

North Florida Water Management District

Suwannee River Water Management District

St Johns River Water Management District

Southwest Florida Water Management District

South Florida Water Management District

If you are not certain of the water management district for your property or place of interest, the water management district map provided by Florida Department of Environmental Protection Department.

Q.       How do I cite references and copyrighted information found on the Water Atlas?

A.        While there is more than one accepted convention for citing references, one of the more widely used and commonly accepted is from Council of Science Editors, CSE, (previously Council of Biological Editors - CBE) Citation/Sequence System. For guides on the use of this system, visit the following links.

http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/researchsources/documentation/cbe_citation/index.cfm

http://essp.csumb.edu/capstone/citationGuideJan04.htm

For detailed instructions using CSE, visit:

http://essp.csumb.edu/capstone/citation.guidelines.doc

Q.       Where can I find information on the Atlas regarding springs?

A.      We do not have a "Springs" Page for spring water resources.  The first component of this sort is being developed for the Lake County Water Atlas and should be available in 2009. 

Q.       Where would I find information on aquatic plants?

A.        When aquatic plant data is available for a water resource, it will be listed under the ecology tab for that water resource.  For general information on plants the first place to check is the USF Plant Atlas.  If you need additional information select "Outside Links" on the Main Plant Atlas page.

Q.       Where can I find general information for a Lake on the Atlas?

A.        To access general information on any lake in the Water Atlas, access the lake page for the lake you are interested and select the information that you need.  To navigate to a lake page:

·        Type the lake name in the Water body Search box found at the upper right corner of the Atlas Home Page.

o       Or select "The Atlas" and use the Navigator and lake page drop down to select the lake page.

You will see categories on the line below the Current Water Resource name.  These are categories of information that can be selected for the lake.  Each category opens a separate page with new information. 

The categories include:

·        General Info

·        Water Quality

·        Hydrology

·        Ecology

·        History & Recreation

·        Photos

Q.       How can I find historical data for a lake or any water body?

A.        You can find historical lake information by:

·        Go to Navigator page (The Atlas)

·        Select the lake from the Lake category drop down

·        Select History and Recreation category (tabs found towards the top of the page under the Current Water Resource row).

Historical documents can be found under the HISTORICAL INFORMATION section.  Some water bodies have historical narratives from residents or family members of residents that lived or still do live on that water body  Not all lakes have historical data; however, those that do provide a rich history of the lake and the people who lived there.

Q.       Where can I find lake information for other counties? 

A.        All Counties served by the Water Atlas are found at www.wateratlas.org .  

Q.       Why isn't the lake/pond I live on listed on the Atlas?

A.        We only list lakes/ponds that are provided to us by the County.  If your lake is not on the Atlas, contact your County to see about becoming a volunteer or otherwise have your lake/pond listed.

Recreation

Q.       How do I find boat ramps and launching points for area lakes?

A.      Each water resource page has a History and Recreation page (upper navigation bar) that will have boat launch information if it exists for that water body Additionally, there are several websites where you can find information pertaining to public access to Florida waterways and water bodies  Unfortunately, for Hillsborough County, only a few lakes are public access lakes.  A few associated websites are listed below.

Boating access in Florida State Parks

Comprehensive Website of Freshwater boat ramps  - owned and operated by Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission

Q.       How can I find out if a water body is safe to swim in?

A.        While contact recreation data are maintained in the Water Atlas, one should always contact the Health Department of the County where the water body resides. If the health department is not monitoring those waters they should be able to refer you to the entity that is. The State of Florida maintains a directory of County Health Departments.  

Q.      Which lakes connect together for boating navigation purposes?

A.        There are several lake chains that show on the Water Atlas.  The best way to find the chains is to explore lake groups on the Water Atlas mapping component.  To access this component, click on The Atlas (Navigator Page on some Water Atlases) and select Interactive Map.  This will open the mapping component.  Now use the zoom in tool and pan tool to find a lake grouping.

If you cannot determine if the lakes are connected, select the 1:24,000 scale (1:24K) found in the Map Navigation Tools section.  Open the aerial photography option by clicking on Aerial Photography under the Map Layers section on the right side of the map page.

Figure 2- Map Layers

Click the box next to 2004 Color Aerials and press the Refresh Map button at the bottom of the page in order to display the aerial map.

In Hillsborough County there are a few lakes that have some connection; however, all the lakes are private access lakes so it will be difficult to enter them.  Also, the connections are only available for some lakes during or near the rainy season.  The following lake chains have some level of connectivity:

·        Northwest Hillsborough County:

o       Rocky Creek system (starts at Rock Lake)

o       King Lakes system (starts at Feinsinger Lake in Pasco County)

o       Upper Rocky Creek system (starts at Lake Harvey)

o       The Lake Fern group (Odessa near Gunn Highway) 

·        East Hillsborough County:

o       Valrico system (starts at lake Valrico)

o       Mango Lake system

Data (Water quality, Hydrology, Bathymetry, etc.) Information

Q.      Is there any way to determine real-time lake levels?

A.        Yes, for some lakes displayed on the Water Atlas, near real-time lake level exists.  Where available, this data is found on the Hydrology page for that lake. 

·        Go to Navigator page (The Atlas)

·        Select the lake from the Lake category drop down

·        Select Hydrology from the navigation bar above the main display.

·        Under hydrology you will have a Rainfall icon and the source will show in blue (this indicates metadata).

o       Click the source and read the metadata.  If it is real time it will say this in the metadata.

Q.       Where can I find water quality data for a Lake on the Atlas?

A.        You have two ways to access water quality data on any lake on the atlas.  The first is by selecting the Research category on the Main Page and then selecting "Data Download" and selecting the water body etc., as questions are asked.  You will end with either an Excel File of the available data or a text file depending on the format and file your select.  The second method is to select "The Atlas" from the main page and then select the "Water Quality" category (top of page).  You will see a brief description of available data and the option to graph the data.  You can also go to Data Download from this page.

Q.       How long does it take for the data that we submit to be uploaded onto the Atlas? 

A.        LAKEWATCH data may take up to 6 months to update.  Some data is only available on a yearly basis.  The primary factor dictating when the data is updated on the Water Atlas is the type of data and the source of data.  Water samples turned into LAKEWATCH must be first analyzed and then recorded and made available for upload.  Real time data is normally pulled from a dedicated web or file transfer protocol (ftp) site.  This can occur as frequently as 1 time every few minutes.  Real time data include: hydrology and physical water quality data that comes in as data-streams from sensors.

Q.      How are bathymetric maps developed (methodology)?

A.        A bathymetric map is a map of the bottom contours of a water body developed through the use of a bottom sounder (sonar) and a method of position location.  The later is normally a global positioning system (GPS) but other methods have been and can be used.  The important thing is to know the exact position that the bottom sounding is taken.  The soundings are taken within a few feet of each other over the whole area of the lake.  For a medium sized lake, several thousands of soundings are taken.  These data are then entered into a geographic information system (GIS) using a relatively high capacity computer and a mapping technique that creates small 3D triangles for associated soundings [Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN)].  The resulting surface is used to create the initial map.  Once the TIN map is created, a second map showing depth contours can be produced.  These maps are used to create the displays that you see on the Water Atlas.

Q.       How and where do I findcontour maps for water bodies?

A.        To find bathymetric or contour maps for lakes, open the Water Atlas for the County or region where the lake resides. From the Water Atlas home page, click THE ATLAS (Navigator) tab and The Atlas: Explore the County's Water Resources page will open.  This is the "navigator" page that allows you to choose the type of water body found within that county. For Hillsborough County, there are tabs for Watersheds, Rivers and Creeks, Lakes and Ponds. Click the down arrow   to the right of Lakes, to display a list in a pull-down (or up) window of all of the named lakes found in Hillsborough County. Scroll through the list (alphabetical order) and click the lake of interest.  The navigator will take you to the first Water Atlas page, "General Info", for that lake.

Click the Hydrology tab in the top menu bar. Once the Hydrology page is displayed, scroll down to the Bathymetric Map information component. Here you will be able to view the static bathymetric map by clicking on the View Contour Map of Lake in the View Map column.  Additional information may also be found by clicking on the Map It link at the end of the Bathymetric Map table information.

Q.       Where information pertaining to underwater topography found on the Atlas?

A.        See FAQ for contour maps.

Q.       How important is Hydrilla to a lake's health and clarity?

A.        Hydrilla is classified as and invasive, exotic macrophyte. It was introduced to the waters of Florida, then to the US via the aquarium trade ca. 1950, and has since become highly problematic for the ecology, fisheries and water quality of water bodies where it exists. In areas where Hydrilla has displaced essentially all native submerged and emergent vegetation, it provides some of the services once provided by the native and diverse plant communities. The literature is replete with studies of Hydrilla. To begin learning more about, read Nonindigenous Aquatic and Semi-Aquatic Plants in Freshwater Systems. 

Adopt-A-Pond Information

Q.       How do I find the forms to send in information regarding Adopt-A-Ponds?

A.        All Adopt-A-Pond general forms and information can be found on the Adopt-A-Pond main page.  Forms for submitting reports or water quality data are found on the individual pond resource page.  To go to a pond page:

·        Select "The Atlas" to go to Navigator from the Home Page of the Atlas.

·        Select a pond by name by clicking on the arrow for the pull-down menu and scroll through the list of pond names until you find the name you need.

o       When you open the pull-down menu and the list can be seen, type the first letter of the pond's name and the list will move to the first pond listed with that letter. 

·        Once at the Pond Page you can select the various pond forms.

If you are not sending information for a specific pond you can select any pond name and from the pond page select Adopt-A-Pond found under the aerial photo of the pond.

Q.       How do I get involved or get the pond I live on involved in the Adopt-A-Pond program?

A.        The first step is to fill out an Adopt-A-Pond application.  The application is found on the Adopt-A-Pond Page which is accessed through the pond pages.  To navigate to the pond page:

·        Select "The Atlas" to go to Navigator from the Home Page of the Atlas.

·        Select a pond by name by clicking on the arrow for the pull-down menu and scroll through the list of pond names until you find the name you need.

o       When you open the pull-down menu and the list can be seen, type the first letter of the pond's name and the list will move to the first pond listed with that letter. 

·        Click on Adopt-A-Pond found under the aerial photo of the pond.

You will also see a form to sign-up as a Pond Watch volunteer.  This is a volunteer water quality monitoring program that trains and equips pond volunteers to collect water samples and make simple measurements to analyze pond water.

Mapping Capabilities Information

 

Q.       Where can I find aerial photographs of a water body?

 

A:        All water resource pages have an aerial photograph for that water body

 

·        Chose The Atlas (Navigator) from the home page of the Atlas.

·        Locate the name of the water body in question by clicking on the drop-down arrow to the right of the water body type.

o       Click on the water body once with the mouse and the General Info page will open.

·        Click on Map It! in the Current Water Resource header.

·        A map drawing of the water body chosen will appear.

·        Change the zoom/scale to 1:24K under Map Navigation Tools on the left panel of the map.

·        The right panel includes a section called Map Layers. 

o       Click on Aerial Photography.

o       Click on the empty box next to 2004 Color Aerials.

o       Click on the Refresh Map button at the bottom of the Map Layers section.

 

You can also go directly to an address near the lake by using "Search For:" tool:

 

·        Select "an address"

·        Enter the address (street address, city, state).

 

To download any view, right click your mouse and select "Save Picture As". 

 

Many water bodies (mostly lakes and ponds) have aerial photos as part of the picture seen on the General Info page for that lake or pond.  Other aerial photographs might also be part of the photo library by clicking on the Photos tab for a particular water body

 

 

 

 

MAPPING APPLICATION HELP

 

 

Tip: Before using the mapping application, take a moment to become familiar with the "buttons" and "tabs" in the mapping application window, and to read "Map Themes" and "Map Help" by clicking their buttons at the top right of the mapping window.

 

 

Map Themes

By clicking the Map Themes button, you will be able to view a brief description of each of the themes - themes are features of the mapping layer that present layer-specific information - contained within the Map Layers. If you click the theme name, the mapping application will automatically produce a view of that theme in the mapping application viewer. The purpose of this feature is to provide a general example of theme, not a full-featured presentation, and that some themes might not display very clearly at the default resolution.

 

 

Map Help

Clicking the Map Help button will provide an easy to use index of all mapping application features. By clicking one of the categories, for example, "Tools on the Right of the Map", you will be provided detailed information about the mapping application tools that are available to the right of the map view. Take some time to become familiar with these tools by reading Map Help, and then experiment with its usage.

 

Map Layers and Map Layer Themes

Map layers are the various groups of information that you can have displayed or activated in the mapping application. There are six Map Layers, each having a number of features. For example, the 'Water' Map Layer, includes the following features: Lakes and Ponds; Rivers, Streams and Canals; Adopt a Ponds; Impaired Waters; Major Rivers, or Major Rivers and Bays, depending upon the location served by the Water Atlas.

 

Activate layer features by clicking the layer name, which produces a drop-down list of the features, and then click (places a check) in the feature box. Conversely, if you do not want a particular feature displayed, simply click the checked feature box, which de-activates that feature. Repeat this process for all map layers and features desired, and then REFRESH the mapping application by clicking the "Refresh Map" button at the bottom of the Map Layer panel. See Figure 3.

 

Tip: Most Map Layers are best viewed at a higher resolution than what is presented when the Mapping Application opens. In some cases, the May Layer feature will not be displayed until you select a higher resolution for example 1:12,000 (1:12k). The resolution dependency of a feature display will be noted in red at the bottom of the Map Layer panel. Take a moment to scroll down to the bottom of the pane and read those few notes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 4 provides an example of the mapping application viewer with the following layers and features activated.

»      Water layer = Lakes and Ponds; Rivers Streams and Canals; Adopt a Ponds; Impaired Waters, and Major Rivers and Bays

»      Environmental layer = Watersheds

»      Sampling Locations = Hydrology Sites and Water Quality Sites

 

 

Notice, for example, how the Alafia River basin is represented with the Map Layers and features mentioned previously are activated. The Alafia River, including its tributaries, is impaired (red). There are many sampling locations on the Alafia and its tributaries; for an example look for the dark blue water drops representing Hillsborough County Stream Waterwatch program sampling sites. Can you find United States Geological Survey hydrology sampling locations?

 

Search Window

In the very top, right side of the mapping application window you will notice a small rectangular box "Water Resource Search" and with a red button "Search" beside it. If you click Water Resource Search, the box will empty and you will be able to type in the name or part of the name of the water body of interest.  A table will appear that will give you a list of names that match or come close to matching the water body name that you entered. Among your choices will typically be the watershed of that water body - since they frequently share the same name - and the water body itself.

 

When you click one of the names, the Water Atlas will take you to the General Information page (the first page of the pages for that water body or watershed). From there you can select the Water Quality, Hydrology, Ecology. tabs to view pertinent information for that water body or watershed, and to find links to more detailed information in the Water Atlas database and Digital Library.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As previously mentioned, if a watershed or water body share the same name, both will be presented. It is also worth noting that a water resource name search might also produce a water body or watershed that is not associated with the water resource of interest. This is because the Water Atlas Water Resource Search "looks" for best fit matches first, but also more general commonalities such as similarity in the first three letters of the name. This later feature gives the user more chances of finding the water body or watershed of interest even if they are not certain of the exact spelling.

 

 

 

 

 

From 'General Info', you can navigate to all of the pages in the Water Atlas for the water body or watershed that you selected. If, after you have completed your research of this water body, you want learn more about another water body or watershed, you can once again use the Water Resource Search tool (top right of all pages), or go back to the Water Atlas Navigator, but clicking 'The Atlas' button in the very top left corner of the page view.