Subject: ASCII Inflow Data File Format for Daily Inflows Posted: 5/26/2024 Viewed: 1407 times
Good day!
I was wondering if it is possible to input daily inflows via the ReadFromFile method. The manual only had a sample for monthly inflows, and I would like to know how the format should be for daily inflows if it is possible.
Thank you!
Mr. Doug Chalmers
Subject: Re: ASCII Inflow Data File Format for Daily Inflows Posted: 5/28/2024 Viewed: 1368 times
Elaine,
Yes, you can definitely use daily inflows via the ReadFromFile method. It is important to note that WEAP offers flexible options for the timesteps of the data- you could use monthly, daily, or other timestep data no matter the timestep your model is run at (ie. you could use daily data in a monthly model, or monthly data in a daily model). The ReadFromFile wizard offers aggregation options for this.
As far as formatting, please use a CSV file. I often include comments in the first row, where I use a semicolon ";" which blocks off the first row as a comment block not read by WEAP- you can store metadata such as the description, source, and units of the file (make sure to document the units used!). Otherwise, for daily data, put in the first column in the next row "$Column = Date". Then, in the first column beneath, put in the dates of your data and then your data. It is best to also include the $DateFormat directive, e.g., "$DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy" or "$DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy", so that your formatting works regardless of the computer's regional settings. You can find further documentation in the ReadFromFile help topic.
A few other tips for the formatting:
You can have as many comment lines as you want, and they don't have to be only at the top. Any line with a semicolon is ignored by WEAP. (In fact, any line that doesn't start with a number or $ is ignored.)
$Columns=Date is only for daily data. If it was monthly, it would be $Columns=Year,Month. However, these are optional -- WEAP can usually figure out if you are using dates or month/timestep numbers.
$Columns can also list the data columns along with their units, e.g., $Columns = Date, Precipitation[mm], Mean Temperature[C]
Please let us know if you have further questions on this.
Thanks,
Doug
Topic "ASCII Inflow Data File Format for Daily Inflows"
