8.1 - CDSS Database (HydroBase)

The Colorado Decision Support System (CDSS) is a data-centered design. This means that most of the data stored in the database (HydroBase) are independent of the models that are also part of the system. As far as is practical, data are stored in the original form and units supplied from the source. Where models use data in the database, a utility program, or data management interface (DMI), is used to access the database and retrieve the data in a format suitable for use by the model. The following data, used as input to StateCU, are stored in HydroBase:

• Diversion structure information including:
  • structure ID
  • County and HUC where structure is located
  • acreage and crop types
  • historic diversions
  • water right information
• Climate station information including:
  • latitude, longitude, and elevation
  • weights to apply to specific locations
  • daily and monthly historical climate records
• Crop Information including:
  • crop characteristic data
  • crop coefficient data

The DMIs used to extract this data in the input format required by StateCU are described in subsequent sections.