GIS Data Catalog

Open water for King County and portions of adjacent counties

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Summary


Cartographic and analysis of anthropic and natural open water features.

The layer contains a RATE item which is set to CURRENT for this edition, indicating that only the most current (non-historic) water features are shown.

Historic (changed) waterbody information can be found in WTRBDY_DET_AREA

Description


Open water features, both natural and anthropic, for King County and portions of adjacent counties.

Features can be displayed as water or non water to distinguished between water and land.

FEAT_TYPE item defines multiple classes of features, primarily lakes/ponds and streams rivers.

Puget Sound and significant double-banked streams and rivers are shown, plus a limited number of manmade features such as aqueducts, ditches, channels and flumes.

Areal open water features are mainly differentiated as either Lakes/Ponds or Impoundments roughly defined as natural and anthropic, respectively.

The name of features, where available, is included.

By using the SUBSET item the layer can be defined to show only the larger water bodies and rivers.


Layer information

Layer Name wtrbdy_area
Subject Category Hydrography
Title Open water for King County and portions of adjacent counties
Feature Count 13649
Feature Type Polygon
Next Update Annually
Spatial reference EPSG:2926
Control ID 485
Place Keywords Pacific NW, Washington State, Pierce County, King County, WA, Snohomish County
Theme Keywords Water Bodies, Aqueducts, Flumes, Ponds, Lakes, Rapids, Water Impoundment, Fish Hatcheries, Ditches, Oceans, Rivers, Hydro, Streams, Channels, Environment, Falls, Inlandwaters
Supplemental Information

Previous editions of this layer also produced a separate BIGWATER layer where the major feature subset was created as a permanent layer.

This is no longer created.

King County shapefile users can perform a definition query on the SUBSET item, or depend on the WTRBDY_AREA_BIGWATER.AVL legend.

Geodatabase featureclass users can also perform a definition query, but may also use the WTRBDY_AREA_BIGWATER.LYR file found in the Plibrary LYR library.

Overlapping and some multipart geometry has been removed from this version of WTRBDY in order to simplify its use and display.

1.

The tidal line (high-low tide) has been removed from Puget Sound.

This information is still available in WTRBDY_DET_AREA.2.

Marine islands have been removed completely.

If needed these can be found in WASHSH_AREA or KINGSH_AREA which are re-derived each time WTRBDY_AREA is updated.

3.

Fresh-water islands are erased from double-banked streams allowing the position of the islands to be determined and for underlying topography to show through.

This eliminates the occasions where the islands were previously hidden due to overlapping geometry.

Fresh-water islands can still be displayed by querying for this feature type in WTRBDY_DET_AREA or by using the customized LYR file called WTRBDY_DET_AREA_ISLANDS.lyr4.

Feature type 406 (Dam, wier, or obscured) that overlap water are also erased.

This eliminates some unintentional hidden affects, but primarily improves the display along built-up harbor areas.

With these features erased from the water, the fit between current orthoimagery and the egde of water is better.

This feature type can also be found in the the ISLANDS customized LYR file described above.

The overall intent of these changes is to remove man-made and land features from WTRBDY_AREA to increase the emphasis of this layer as water-only.


Table Preview


Attribute information

OBJECTID

From ESRI

Description

Internal feature number.

Domain

Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

FEATURE_ID

From King County

Description

Unique identifier for each feature

Domain

Unique and persistent, non-sequential positive integer

NAME

From King County

Description

Name of geographic feature

Domain

Mixed case name of feature, where known; otherwise blank

CREATED_DATE

From king county

Description

polygon creatation date

Domain

Not Found

SUBSET_CD

From King County

Description

Integer value that classifies larger, more significant lakes and rivers

Domain

0 - Wtrbdy all

1 - Bigwater river

2 - Bigwater waterbody

SUBSET

From King County

Description

String value that classifies larger, more significant lakes and rivers

Domain

Wtrbdy all - Feature not part of BIGWATER cartographic set

Bigwater river - A significant double-banked stream or river that is part of BIGWATER cartographic set.

Bigwater waterbody - A significant lake or pond that is part of BIGWATER cartographic set.

TYPE_CD

From King County

Description

Integer value for type of water feature or non water feature

Domain

101 - Reservoir

106 - Fish hatchery or farm

107 - Residential or industrial water impoundment

109 - Sewage Disposal Pond

116 - Bays, estuaries, gulfs, oceans

400 - Rapids

401 - Falls

412 - River or stream

414 - Ditch or channel

415 - Aqueduct

416 - Flume

421 - Lake or pond

423 - Sand or gravel

902 - Fresh water island

WATER

From King County

Description

String value that classifies water from land

Domain

Non water - Land areas

Water - Open water

WATER_CD

From King County

Description

Integer value that classifies water from land

Domain

1 - Water

0 - Non water

FEAT_TYPE

From King County

Description

String value for type of water feature or non water feature

Domain

Reservoir - Manmade reservoir or impoundment larger than detention pond

Fish hatchery or farm - Physical structure of fish hatchery or farm

Residential or industrial water impoundment - Manmade or man-modified detention or retention pond. Includes filled gravel or quarry pits and landscape waterbodies

Bays, estuaries, gulfs, oceans - Puget Sound, connecting straits and Pacific Ocean

Rapids - River rapids

Falls - River falls

River or stream - All linear double-banked features. Features included do not define a minimum flowrate set

Ditch or channel - Manmade or man-modified ditch or channelized route

Aqueduct - Feature for water transmission that is not considered a pipeline

Flume - Exposed water path usually associated with water impoundment

Lake or pond - Areal water feature, generally to be inferred as natural in origin though may be significantly anthropically modified or restricted

Sand or gravel - Non-island extents of unvegetated or lightly vegetated area adjacent to rivers

Sewage disposal pond - Clearly delineated barriered impoundments

Ditch or channel - Farm or other channelized ditch or waterway

SOURCE_CD

From King County

Description

Integer value defining source of feature extent and attributes

Domain

2035 - Kitsap vector data

2053 - Pierce vector source

2061 - Snohomish vector data

3026 - Washington Dept of Natural Resources vector data

3061 - 2002 USGS digital orthophotography

3066 - 2002 KC digital orthophotography

3070 - 2005 Aerials Express digital orthophotography

3072 - 2007 Pictometry digital orthophotography

3301 - 2006 KC NAIP digital orthophotography

DATASOURCE

From King County

Description

String value defining source of feature extent and attributes

Domain

Name of orthoimagery control where used for capture and validation, or name of vector dataset is appended to area outside of control

SHAPE

From ESRI

Description

Feature geometry.

Domain

Coordinates defining the features.

SHAPE.STArea()

No Source Noted

Description

Not Found

Domain

Not Found

SHAPE.STLength()

No Source Noted

Description

Not Found

Domain

Not Found


Contact information

Maintained by KCGIS Center
Primary KCGIS Center

giscenter@kingcounty.gov


Terms of Use

Summary


Cartographic and analysis of anthropic and natural open water features.

The layer contains a RATE item which is set to CURRENT for this edition, indicating that only the most current (non-historic) water features are shown.

Historic (changed) waterbody information can be found in WTRBDY_DET_AREA

Description


Open water features, both natural and anthropic, for King County and portions of adjacent counties.

Features can be displayed as water or non water to distinguished between water and land.

FEAT_TYPE item defines multiple classes of features, primarily lakes/ponds and streams rivers.

Puget Sound and significant double-banked streams and rivers are shown, plus a limited number of manmade features such as aqueducts, ditches, channels and flumes.

Areal open water features are mainly differentiated as either Lakes/Ponds or Impoundments roughly defined as natural and anthropic, respectively.

The name of features, where available, is included.

By using the SUBSET item the layer can be defined to show only the larger water bodies and rivers.


Contact information

Maintained by KCGIS Center
Primary KCGIS Center

giscenter@kingcounty.gov


Terms of use and copyright


Change history

9/12/2016

Updated using 2015 Aerial photography for the west side of the county and 2015 pictometry for the east side of the county.

5/1/2011

Updated WTRBDY by 2010 ortho imagery.

Also compared data from Covington with KC WTRBDY for updates.

At same time updating WTRCRS so that WTRBDY aligns with WTRCRS.

10/8/2009

Rate = BAD features were removed.

These BAD features were features originally coded as waterbodies prior to the 2007 imagery update.

Reviewing against the 2007 imagery indicated that these features are not valid waterbodies.

Editors are instructed not to remove feature during review, but to code RATE = BAD.

The BAD features were written to a shapefile in the SupportingData folder in the workspace.

9/1/2009

Misspelling for 'South Fork Snoqualmie River' fixed.

Misspelling for Hanson Reservoir corrected.

9/26/2008

Lake Garrett (in Lakewood Park in White Center) is renamed Hicks Lake.

This is based on input from the public, internal usage, and USGS GNIS reference.

The lake still maintains the alternate name of Lake Garrett.

4/1/2008

CHANGE IN GEOMETRY MODEL FOR PUBLISHED SDW VERSION: Prior to publication of user version to Spatial Data Warehouse the following geometry revisions are made programatically.

1.

Freshwater islands are erased from underlying double-banked stream geometry 2.

Manmade over-water features (Dams, wiers, docks, etc) are erased from the underlying waterbody.

4/1/2008

CHANGE IN PRIMARY GEOMETRY MODEL: Marine island polygons (those in Puget Sound, including Vashon), and Mercer Island polygon were permanently removed.

The tide line in Puget Sound has been removed.

4/1/2008

The existing version of WTRBDY depended on Geodatabase Coded Value Domains (CVDs).

These relate a stored integer value to a look-up value in the CVD.

To make the resulting SDW featureclass and shapefile appear similar and to ensure that attribute value persist even when changes to the look-up value of the CVD changes, the information in the CVDs is hardcoded into the schema of the version of WTRBDY_AREA posted to the SDW.

This required addition of the following items: STATUS_CD - Integer value for STATUS item WATER_CD - Integer value for WATER item SUBSET_CD - Integer value for SUBSET item TYPE_CD - Integer value for FEAT_TYPE item SOURCE_CD - Integer value for SOURCE item.

7/10/2007

General maintenance items based on user feedback.

- Angel Lake renamed Angle Lake - Howard Hansen Reservoir was incorrectly labeled Chester Morse Lake.

Corrected.

- A small slough north of Mercer Slough Nature Park was edited so that the land between the two branches of the slough appears as non-water rather than an island.

7/1/2007

Updates using 2007 (July-August) Pictometry Orthoimagery begun.

Per editing rules outlined in DataSet Overview, this imagery was used to check and update all features within the imagery project area.

New features added and source code updated.

Boundaries of existing features are edited if adjustment required is minor; otherwise existing feature is moved to OLD status and new feature created.

For all features, reviewed and/or edited, the source code was updated to reflect 2007 review.

See Project Plan for additional details.

Columns AA thru AN were completed at the start of the update.

Three additional editors were assigned areas east of Column AN to assist in completing review of WTRBDY_AREA against the 2007 imagery.

They worked on aerial waterbodies only, double-banked streams and edge-of-water (Puget Sound) are being handled separately.

3/1/2007

Final quality assessment and validation prior to version 1 edition

1/1/2007

Assign and validate coded-value-domain assignments and final modifications to schema.

20062007

Complete tile-by-tile editing on 7500 tile scheme based on 2002 imagery

20062007

Update with 2005 and 2006 imagery on township tile-by-tile basis.

Includes quality review of existing 2002 features.

Establish history capture and topology relationships.

1/1/2006

Establish edit base from legacy and external data

1/1/2006

Double-banked stream editing and publication of BIGWATER

1/1/2006

Updated Covington polygons to be detention ponds not lake or pond.

Renamed Hicks Lane to Hicklin Lake.

Added name to Lake Kenyon.

1/1/2005

Significant edge of water development

1/1/2005

Pilot area project

1/1/1997

WTRBDY was created in a 1997 joint project between WA Dept of Ecology and King County Water and Land Division from an initial source coverage of the standard WA Dept.

of Natural Resources hydrography layer.

This data set is integrated from numerous sources, primarily at 1:24,000 scale.

More information about this initial version, some of which still applies to the current version, can be found in this supplemental document.

Beginning in 2001, WLRD started updating this coverage with additional information from other jurisdictions and field data.