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. . . GQ~1,~1 SECTION I - INTRODUCTION Purpose of This Guide The purpose of this guide is to provide potential users of the Missouri River Basin Water Accounting System an introduction to information presently available from the Water Accounting System. The guide is divided into four sections. Section I - Introduction provides a system overview, explains how to obtain information from the system, and includes a glossary of terms. A. Missouri River basin map with the node basin boundaries delineated on it is located in a pocket on the back cover of this guide. Section 2 - Printout Programs describes, with examples, the four computer printout programs that can be used to access and list information stored in the MBSA database. Section 3 - Graphic Programs describes, with examples, the two computer graphics programs that can be used to display information from the MBSA database. Section 4 - QUERY Program describes, with an example, the use of the "what if" program that was developed as a part of the Water Accounting System. System Overview Water and its fu ture av ailabili ty for use in each state is a principal concern for the ten Missouri River basin state governors. Meeting in conference in 1977, 1978 and 1979, the governors unanimously called for a study to "develop within the several states a cooperative water data system adequate for assessing the current and future water uses within the basin." As a result, the Missouri River Basin Hydrology Study was initiated. Now completed, the study had two major objectives: (1) assemble a database describing historic water availability and uses in the ten-state Missouri River basin that is acceptable to the state and federal agencies involved in water management in the Missouri River basin, and (2) develop a computerized water accounting system incorporating the database that will aid in estimating the effects of using additional quantities of water in the future. The resulting Missouri River Basin Water Accounting System is a tool for use by federal and state water resources managers. In the Missouri River basin system, the quantity of water available is continuously altered by precipitation, water inflow and outflow, evaporation, and consumption. The Missouri River Basin Water Accounting System was based on a depletion approach which accounts for this continual change in supply and consumption. The Water Accounting System describes at 93 selected streamflow gaging stations (listed in Table 1) the water supply that would have been available during the 35-year period from 1944 through 1978 had the 1978 level of water uses existed. The base year 1978 was selected at the time the study was initiated, since it was the most recent year of record for which the latest and most reliable information on the amount of water used was readily available. Figures I through 4 further define the depletion concept. 1-1