Annual and approximately quarterly series peak streamflow derived from interpretations of indirect measurements for a crest-stage gage network in Texas through water year 2015

In 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in
cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation,
began collecting annual and approximately quarterly series
peak-streamflow data at streamflow-gaging stations in smallto
medium-sized watersheds in central and western Texas
as part of a crest-stage gage (CSG) network, along with
selected flood-hydrograph data at a subset of these stations.
CSGs record the peak stage during storm events, which is
the maximum gage height (elevation of water surface above
a local vertical datum), at each CSG station. Established and
widely used indirect methods of peak streamflow estimation
and interpretation, such as culvert-flow, slope-area, and
flow-over-road methods, are used in conjunction with peak
gage height data to create the database of peak streamflow
described herein. The CSG network is focused on hydrology
of small- to medium-sized watersheds in central and western
Texas because additional streamflow data for this semiarid
to arid study area will eventually provide for more statistical
information and presumably reduced uncertainty in regional
regression equations or other regionalized statistical methods
for peak-streamflow frequency estimation at ungaged
locations. The database of annual and approximately quarterly
peak streamflow is published through USGS ScienceBase and
described in this report.