Reference · built on requestCommons signalAir, water & environment

California Data Exchange Center (CDEC)

River stage, flow, reservoir storage, and snowpack readings from California DWR's real-time and historical data services.

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About

The California Data Exchange Center is run by the California Department of Water Resources to support real-time flood management and water supply operations. It holds river stage, flow, reservoir elevation and storage, precipitation, and snow water content from stations across California's river basins, in event, hourly, daily, and monthly durations.

An operator on Fibric reads the stations and sensor numbers you name and proposes an action when a reading crosses your threshold. You decide; the receipt shows the station, sensor, and reading it used.

This is a reference listing. It documents what Fibric would read from California Data Exchange Center (CDEC) and what it could propose, based on the publisher's published interfaces. Fibric builds it under a managed deployment when you request it; selecting it here installs nothing.

Inputs

  • Real-time, daily, and monthly readings by station and sensor number through CSVDataServlet and JSONDataServlet under /dynamicapp/req
  • River stage (sensor 1), flow (20), and full natural flow (8) at the gauges upstream of a site
  • Reservoir elevation (6), storage (15), and outflow (23) for reservoirs such as ORO
  • Snow water content (3), accumulated precipitation (2), and air temperature (4) at mountain stations
  • Latest readings across all stations for one sensor through /dynamicapp/getAll?sens_num=
  • Scheduled reservoir releases through QueryRES and lastRes
  • Station metadata from staMeta: basin, county, operator, coordinates, sensors, durations, and period of record

Proposed actions

Read-only. This feed informs operators; it changes nothing.

Proposed actions are target capabilities. Every action runs propose-first and needs a validated deployment and the appropriate permissions.

What you can build

  • Stage a site before a river crests

    Watch river stage and flow at the gauge upstream of a facility. When a reading passes your threshold, the operator proposes the preparation checklist and waits for your approval.

    With Storm Prep

  • Warn river sites of a scheduled release

    Read scheduled reservoir releases from QueryRES. When a release affects a reach you operate on, the operator proposes a notice to site leads with the schedule attached.

    With Severe Weather Notice

  • Put snowpack and storage in the brief

    Read daily snow water content and reservoir storage for the stations you name. The morning brief shows each reading, the change since yesterday, and the observation date.

    With Morning Brief

Requirements

  • The CDEC station ids and sensor numbers for each site you watch, from staMeta or staSearch
  • A duration code per series: E for event, D for daily, plus hourly and monthly where a station offers them
  • Handling for Pacific Standard Time, which CDEC uses for all dates and output year-round
Authentication
No key. The CSV and JSON servlets answer anonymous requests; there is no registration or token.

Limits

  • All timestamps are Pacific Standard Time year-round; convert before comparing with UTC feeds
  • No rate limit or service level is published; DWR does not guarantee accuracy, completeness, or timeliness
  • Sensor outages and recalibrations appear as free-text notes in station metadata, not as flags on values

Access and pricing

Reference listing. Public feed access is separate from Fibric integration. If you request this feed, your quote covers the build, usage, and support.

Request California Data Exchange Center (CDEC) ↗

Questions and answers

Do you need a key to call CDEC?
No. The CSV and JSON servlets under /dynamicapp/req answer anonymous requests with station ids, sensor numbers, a duration code, and optional dates. Leave a date blank for the start or end of record.
How do you find a station's sensors?
Open /dynamicapp/staMeta?station_id=ORO. It lists the station's basin, county, operator, and coordinates, then a table of sensors with number, duration, collection method, and period of record. /dynamicapp/staSearch searches by other criteria.
What time zone are the readings in?
Pacific Standard Time, all year. CDEC states that dates, times, and output will always be Pacific Standard Time, so there is no daylight-time shift in the series.
Ask about California Data Exchange Center (CDEC)

Ask about the capabilities and requirements in this listing.

For project-specific requirements, contact Fibric.

This Commons signal listing is developed, published, and supported by Fibric. It reads public data published by California Department of Water Resources, California Data Exchange Center (cdec.water.ca.gov). Upstream agencies and projects are the property of their respective owners, who are not affiliated with Fibric and do not sponsor or endorse this listing. Trademark policy