storet
retrieval
FORMAT REFERENCE CARD
This pocket-sized reference card lists the
retrieval keywords that are available £or
structuring requests for information from the
STORET Water Quality File (WQF). STORET is a
computerized data base utility maintained by
EPA for the STOrage and RETrieval of
parametric data relating to the quality of
the waterways of the United States.
The card is intended primarily for use by
water quality analysts and other STORET users
who retrieve station location and parametric
data from the WQF. It lists, in alphabetical
order, all general retrieval keywords that
generally apply to any of the STORET
retrieval programs; it also lists, in
alphabetical order by program, those keywords
that apply only to specific retrieval
programs. Descriptions of the 14 retrieval
programs available to STORET users are
provided on the back panel.
This card will be updated from time to time.
However, the STORET User Handbook is the
authoritative reference source for
information on STORET's retrieval capability,
and it will always be the first STORET
document to reflect any new or modified
retrieval capabilities.
All STORET user documentation is produced and
maintained by STORET User Assistance
personnel in Washington, D.C. Refer to the
STORET User Handbook, or phone (202) 426-7792
or (BOO) 424-9067, for further information
and assistance in retrieving data from
STORET.
First Edition/Fall 1979
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460

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GENERAL RETRI
A	4 station selector; user agency;
used with S keyword
AGGR	4	data selector; aggregate data
ANC	4	data selector; calculated values
ARCLASS	4	station restrictor; archived data
AREA	4	station selector; 208 areas
B	4	station selector; range of stations
BD	4	data selector; beginning date
BG	4	data selector; begin groupings
BOT	4	data selector; bottom samples
BS	4 station selector; major/minor/sub
basins
BT	4 data selector; beginning time
CO	4 station selector; county code; used
N	with STC keyword
D	4	data selector; sample depth
DSROC	4	data selector; grab or composite
ED	4	data selector; ending date
EG	4	data selector; end groupings
ET	4	data selector; ending time
EXTRACT	4	station restrictor; station masks
HEAD	4	print control; report identification
IS	G	data selector; intensive surveys
L	4 station selector; latitude/longitude;
used with LT-I instruction
LD	4 data selector; lower sample depth
LT"I,	4 station selector; polygon retrieval;
used with L keywords
MASK	4 station selector; station masks;
used with EXTRACT keyword
NORET	5 retrieval restrictor; bypass data
retrieval
NOSELECT 5 retrieval restrictor; bypass station
data
NOTU	4 station restrictor; exclude agencies;
used with LJ keyword
ONLYU	4 station restrictor; station listing
order; used with U keyword
P	4 data selector; water quality
parameters
PARF	4 data selector; multiplication factor;
used with P and PARU keywords

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EVAL KEYWORDS
PARONLY
PARU
PGM
PHV
PLV
PM
PRMI
PRT
PRV
PURP
R
RMI
S
SELECT
SHIFT
ST
STC
STCNTY
U
UD
4 data selector; required parameters;
used with P keyword
4 data selector; measurement expression;
used with P and PARF keywords
4 retrieval identification; program
name; required keyword
4 data selector; high parameter value;
used with PRV keyword
4	data selector; low parameter value;
used with PRV keyword
5	data selector; equate parameters;
used with P keyword
4 print control; print RMI information
4 print control; control printed output
4 data selector; value comparison;
used with PHV and PLV keywords
4 retrieval identification; purpose
of retrieval; required keyword
4 data selector; select by remark codes
4 station selector; river mile indices
4	station selector; station code;
used with A keyword
5	retrieval restrictor; bypass FCF creation
4 print control; shift header information
4 station restrictor; state code
4 station selector; state code;
used with CO keyword
4 station restrictor; state and county
4 station restrictor; user agency;
used with ONLYU and NOTU keywords
4 data selector; upper sample depth
KEY TO THESE INNER PANELS
The retrieval keywords listed above in
alphabetical order generally apply to
any of the STORET retrieval programs;
the retrieval keywords listed in the
panels to the right apply only to the
retrieval program under which they are
alphabetically listed. The numbers
(letters) refer to the sections
(appendices) of the WQ-RET chapter of
the STORET User Handbook in which the
keyword is described in detail.
Retrieval programs ALLPARM, INDEX, STA,
and PUNCH have no special keywords.

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ASA99
AUXF1LE
AUXSYM
CKNO
CKWDTH
CLR
CSIZE
LT-NORET
NOBOX
NOCOUN
NOPOLAUX
NOPOLPLT
NOSTATE
ONEORG
PLOTHSG
SCALE
STOPREC
STREAMS
STRTREC
TAGS
TLAT
TLONG
HV
LV
PSA
7 generate Aggregated Subarea overlays
7 plot additional locations
7 supply legend information
7 specify first position of check value
f ield
7 specify length of check value field
6	plot city, lake, and reservoir outlines
7	specify height of title block
characters
7 suppress plotting of miscoded stations
7 suppress drawing of bo* around plot
6	suppress plotting of county boundaries
7	plot points in the auxiliary file
6	suppress plotting of polygon
7	suppress plotting of state and county
boundary lines
7 begin all plots at same origin
7 generate message to plotter operator
7 specify scale of plot
7 specify highest check value to be
plotted
6	plot streams
7	specify lowest check value to be plotted
6	assign cross-reference numbers to
stations plotted
7	specify vertical position of title block
7 specify horizontal position of title
block
PS I
PSO
PVS
TS
CONTROL
CARDS
NOPARCDS
NOPAREND
STMIDi
6 flag values exceeding upper limit
6 flag values below lower limit
6 print and flag parameter values in
violation of specified criteria
6 print number of parameters retrieved
6 print only those parameters in violation
of specified criteria
6 print summary of values outside
specified criteria
6 perform linear transformation of
parameter values
NOPAR
7 define criteria for selecting stations
7 begin NOPAR control cards; required
7 end NOPAR control cards,- required

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KEYWORDS SPECIAL TO STORI
ilMliiMi
PSA	6 print station header information for
all stations retrieved
SP	6 suppress printing of individual
station summaries
HH
ADDM	7	assign mileages for retrieved stations
ASA99	7	generate Aggregated Subarea overlays
AT	7	insert a station at mileage ADDM
BEGIN	7	format MSP keyword strings
COMSCL	7	repeat preceding plot's scale
CONLEV	7 set vertical increment of contour lines
CONN	7 cause plot line to be continuous across
stations lacking data
CSIZE 7 specify height of title block characters
DELM	7 suppress plotting of stations on mileage
linear plots
EARLY 7 define early points of reference for trend maps
FLEX	7 suppress plotting outside a polygon
GRAPHNO 7 specify symbols and types of shading to be
plotted
GROUPS 7 partition data linearly into groups
GROUPSB 7 group data at specified breakpoints
GROUPSQ 7 group data into four equally sized groups
INCR	7 specify x-axis increment for mileage
linear plots
LABEL	7 supply map title information
LATE	7 define late points of reference for trend maps
LEFT	7 specify parameter for left y-axis
LINEAR	7 plot parameter on linear scale
LINMIL	7 specify mileage-linear scaling
LINSTA	7 specify station-linear scaling
LOG	7 set y-axis to be log scale
LT-NORET	7 suppress plotting of miscoded stations
M*nS	7 plot mean * n times Sigma
MAX	7 plot maximum value of parameter
MEAN	7 Invoke execution of program MEAN
MEAN-n	7 plot mean value of parameter
MIN	7 plot minimum value of parameter
MODEL	7 establish plot specifications
MSPARMS	7 begin MSP special keywords; required
MUL	7 how to plot coincident values
NMIN	7 specify minimum number of observations

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IT'S RETRIEVAL PROGRAMS
tift, Continued
NOBOX
7 suppress drawing of box around plot
NOCONN
7 cause plot line to be broken across
stations lacking data
NOCOUN
6 suppress plotting of county boundaries
NOLIST
7 suppress station input listing
NOPOLAUX
7 plot points in the auxiliary file
NOPOLPLT
6 suppress plotting of polygon
NOSTATE
7 suppress plotting of state and
county boundary lines
NOTRMK
7 how to plot values with remark codes
NUMLITE
7 control number of thin contour lines
%TILEnT
7 plot percentile n
PI
7 set conditions for selecting parameters
PLOT
7 define type of plot desired
POINTS
7 specify plotting symbols for contour maps
POST
7 control appearance of raw data points
QUALMAP
7 request geographical water quality maps
RES
7 control fineness of contour lines
RIGHT
7 specify parameter for right y-axis
RMK
7 how to plot values with remark codes
SAMSCL
7 request common scale for both plot axes
SAMSTA
7 group stations as a single station
SAVE
7 place MSP output on tape or disk, but suppress
printing of output
SAVEOUT
7 place MSP output on tape or disk
SCALE
7 specify scale of plot
SEG
7 select time intervals for plotting
SKPLESS
7 suppress plotting of thin contour
lines
START
7 specify starting point for mileage-
linear plot
STAT
7 specify statistics to be mapped
STOPMSP
7 end MSP special keywords; required
SYMANG
7 specify angle of rotation of plotted
symbols
SVMSIZE
7 specify height of plotted symbols
TLAT
7 specify vertical position of title block
TLONG
7 specify horizontal position of title
block
TPLOT
7 request trend map
TRNDNLY
7 suppress plotting of data on trend maps
ZOOM
7 restrict plotting to a specific area

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mi
CONV
7
create an FCF using standard
character representations
DR
6
control decimal placement
MORE
7
create an FCF in hexadecimal format
FACT
6
control size of plot
HV
6
exclude high values from calculations
LH
6
set acceptable high limit for parameter
LL
6
set acceptable low limit for parameter
LOAD
6
compute stream loadings
LOG
6
calculate logarithmic values
LV
6
exclude low values from calculations
NOPLQT
6
suppress plotting of selected parameters
SC
6
request indentically-scaled plots
SYM
6
select plotting symbols
P«n
7
:::::Sw^v
specify parameter to be plotted; require<
PLOT
7
request a REG analysis; required
QUALITY
7
specify quality standard line
REGPARMS
7
begin REG special keywords; required
STOPREG
7
end REG special keywords; required
TIME
7
specify beginning and ending dates
for analysis
XMAX
7
specify maximum value for x-axis
parameter
YMAX
7
specify maximum value for y-axis
parameter
MBAIJ
BASE
6
set beginning date for analyses
DG
6
specify date groupings
DG-,
7
suppress printing of calculations
DM
6
control decimal placement
HV
6
exclude high values from calculations
LH
6
set acceptable high limit for parameter
LL
6
set acceptable low limit for parameter
LOAD
6
compute stream loadings
LOG
6
calculate logarithmic values
LV
6
exclude low values from calculations
OUT
7
save MEAN output
SF
6
select statistical functions
SORT
6
sort prior to analysis
VD
6
specify variable date groupings

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DESCRIPTIONS
OF THE
WQF RETRIEVAL PROGRAMS
There are fourteen programs available to
STORET users to retrieve station location and
parametric data from the WQF. The following
list summarizes the primary functions of
these programs and the type of information
they provide.
STATION INFORMATION ONLY
STA	lists station codes for selected
agencies
INDEX lists station header information
NOPAR selects stations meeting specified
sampling criteria
LOC	plots a map showing station
locations
INVENTORY OF PARAMETERS SAMPLED
INVENT lists summary information on
parameters sampled using a 132-
character print line
INV120 lists summary information on
parameters sampled using a 120-
character print line
LISTINGS OF ACTUAL SAMPLE VALUES
RET	lists sample values for selected
parameters
ALLPARM lists sample values for all
parameters
PUNCH punches selected parametric data
into 80-column cards
STATISTICAL ANALYSES OF PARAMETRIC DATA
STAND
compares actual parametric data
values against standards
MEAN	performs statistical calculations
on selected parameters
REG	performs linear regression analyses
on parametric data
MSP	plots selected statistics of
parameter values as functions
of stations
PLOT	plots parametric data values as
a function of time

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TABLE OF WQF GENERAL RETRIEVAL KEYWORDS BY RETRIEVAL PROGRAM
This table depicts the applicability of all general
retrieval keywords with respect to the WQF retrieval
programs. A plus sign (~) entry indicates that the keyword
is valid with the indicated program, and a NO entry denotes
that the keyword is invalid with the indicated program. The
SECTION column refers to the section (number) or appendix
(letter) of the retrieval chapter (of the STORET User
Handbook) in which the keyword is described in detail.
DATA SELECTION AND ANALYSIS PROGRAMS
SAMPLING SITE LOCATION
ANALYSIS AND DISPLAY
SEC-
RETRIEVAL

ALL-






1 1
|INVENT|




TION
KEYWORDS
RET 1
PARM
1 STAND
MSP
I MEAN
PLOT
I PUNCH
REG
IINV120I
1 1
NOPAR
LOC
INDEX
STA

PGM
+ I
+
I 4-
+
| +
+
1 +
+
1 1
1 + 1
+
+
+
4-
4
PURP
~ 1
+
i 4-
+
j +
+
i +
+
1 + 1
1 1
+
+
4-
4-

A,B,S
4- 1
+
| 4
+
| +
¦f
i +
+
1 1
1 + 1
+
+
4-
A ONLY

LT, L
4- I
+
I 4-
+
| +
+
i +
NO
1 + 1
+
+
4-
NO
4
RMI
4- 1
+
j 4-
+
| +
+
i +
NO
1 + 1
•f
*
4-
NO

STC,CO
+ 1
4-
I +
4-
| +
+
i +
NO
1 + 1
+
+
+
NO

BS
+ 1
4-
j 4-
+
| +
+
j +
NO
i + i
+
+
4
NO

AREA
4- |
+
j 4-
+
| +
+
i +
NO
i + i
+
+
4-
NO

MASK
+ 1
4-
| +
4-
j +
¦f
i +
NO
i + i
i i
+
+
4
NO

ST
+ I
NO
| +
+
| +
+
i +
NO
i i
i + i
+
+
4
NO

STCNTY
+ 1
NO
| 4-
4-
| +
+
j +
NO
1 NO |
+
+
+
NO
4
U,NOTU,-








1 1





ONLYU
+ 1
NO
i +
+
| -f
¦f
i +
NO
1 + 1
+
4
4-
NO

EXTRACT
4- 1
4-
i +
+
1 +
+
j +
NO
1 + 1
+
+
4
NO

ARCLASS
+ 1
NO
i +
~
i +
+
j +
+
i + i
i i
~
+
NO
NO

P
+ |
4-
i +
+
i +

j +
~
i i
i + i
NO
NO
NO
NO

BT, ET
+ 1
NO
i +
~
j +
+
i +
•f
i + i
NO
NO
NO
NO

BD, ED
+ 1
+
| 4-
+
i +
+
j +
+
i + i
NO
NO
NO
NO

BG, EG
4- I
NO
j +
+
i +
¦f
i +
~
i + i
NO
NO
NO
NO

UD, LD
+ 1
+
I 4-
+
i +
+
i +
+
i + i
NO
NO
NO
NO

AGGR
4- 1
NO
| +
+
i +
¦f
j +
+
i + i
NO
NO
NO
NO
4
ANC
+ I
NO
j 4-
+
j +
+
i +
+
i + i
NO
NO
NO
NO

DSROC
+ 1
NO
| +
+
i
+
i +
+
i + i
NO
NO
NO
NO

BOT
+ 1
NO
I 4-
+
j ~
+
j +
+
1 NO |
NO
NO
NO
NO

PARONLY
~ 1
NO
| 4-
*
i +
~
i +
~
1 NO |
NO
NO
NO
NO

PARU,PARF
4- 1
NO
I 4-
+
i +
+
i +
+
1 NO |
NO
NO
NO
NO

PRV,PLV,PHV
+ 1
NO
I 4-
+
j +
+
i +
+
1 NO |
NO
NO
NO
NO

R
4- 1
NO
| 4-
+
i +
+
i +
+
1 NO |
NO
NO
NO
NO

D
~ 1
NO
I 4-
+
i +
+
i +
+
1 NO |
NO
NO
NO
NO
G
IS
+ 1
NO
I 4-
~
j +
¦f
i +
NO
1 NO |
1 1
NO
+
NO
NO

SHIFT
4- 1
NO
1 +
+
j +

i
+
1 1
1 NO |
NO
NO
NO
NO

HEAD
+ 1
NO
| +
+
i *
+
i +
+
1 NO |
NO
+
NO
NO
4
PRT
4- 1
NO
| +
~
j +
~
i ~
+
1 NO |
NO
NO
NO
NO

PRMI
+ 1
NO
j 4-
+
i ~
¦f
i +
+
1 NO |
1 1
NO
NO
NO
NO

SELECT
4-
NO
+
+
-f

i .
~
! ~ I!
~
~
~
NO
5
NOSELECT
4- 1
NO
1 4-
+
I +
¦f
i +
+
1 * II
*
~
+
NO

NORET
4- 1
NO
I 4-
+
i ~
+
i +
~
1 NO | |
~
+
4-
NO

PM
4- 1
NO
I 4-
+
i -f
+
i *
i

1 NO | |
1 1 1
NO
NO
NO
NO

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STORET HELP DATA SETS
STORET User Assistance personnel maintain a
collection of on-line data sets which assist or
advise users on some aspect of the STORET system.
The names and purposes of some of the more
frequently used STORET help data sets are listed
below.
AGENCODE - lists STORET agency codes and the
organizations to which they are assigned
BASIN.CODES - lists the major and minor river
basin codes, and their associated basin names
COUNTY.CODES - lists the special county codes
assigned to the oceans, large lakes or bays,
the Gulf of Mexico, and Canada
ERROR - contains the job control statements needed
to retrieve the secondary error messages
generated by the weekend STORET update run
HANDBOOK- lists the currently available contents
of the STORET User Handbook
INDEX - lists the names and descriptions of all
currently available STORET help data sets
KEYWORD.INDEX - indexes the retrieval keywords to
their descriptions in the STORET User Handbook
KEYWORD.PROGRAMS - prints a table showing which
keywords are valid with which programs
KEYWORD.SUMMARY - lists the retrieval keywords
along with a brief description and an example
of their use
PARGROUP - lists STORET parameters in alphabetic
order by parameter name within parameter group
PARLAST - lists all parameters that have been added
to the system as of the date printed in line
600 of the data set
PARMALFA - lists STORET parameters in alphabetic
order by parameter name
PARNUMER - lists STORET parameters in numerical
order by parameter code
PLOT.LOG - lists the dates that user-requested
CALCOMP plots were mailed from EPA and to whom
they were mailed
PRNTAGEN - contains a procedure which prints all
agency codes within a state; a count of
stations within each agency is also provided
PRIORITY.POLUTANT.GROUPS - lists the parameter
numbers included in the 129 groups of priority
pollutants
SEC208.AREAS - lists the state areawide waste
treatment management areas (208 areas) defined
in STORET for use with the AREA keyword
STATION.TYPE - lists and defines all station type
codes defined within STORET
STORUN - lists dates when the last STORET update
runs were performed

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