More than one data table will be used for a given "Project". When a batch of field or laboratory data is first entered into the computer, data are placed into a named Working table. Field personnel are free to review, manipulate, edit, and delete records in the Working table. Each record must be validated, which indicates that it has been checked for accurate typing; and, a responsible person must review equipment calibration records and data collection techniques, and perhaps examined the data for reasonableness. Only when a Working table is complete and every record is validated can the data be transferred into a Master table.
You can create one or more Master tables to hold Project water resources data. You will use your discretion to determine which data should be transferred to a given Master table, and what requirements must be met for temporary data to earn membership in your permanent Project records. For example, you may wish to exclude historic water quality data collected from 1960 to 1980 because you consider it to be of marginal utility having been collected prior to creation of 80 percent of the point source discharges in the region. Conversely, although you consider the data to be marginal, you may wish to transfer the data to a separate historic Master table that may only occasionally be referred to.
You may decide to subdivide your permanent Project records in alternative ways. For example, for speed of operation you may wish to exclude the bulky "time series" data (perhaps collected every 15 minutes by an automatic monitor) from your primary Master table and place it into a Master table reserved for that type of data. Or, you may wish to subdivide data into multiple Master tables by date on which they were collected (for example, have a 1993 file, a 1994 file, etc.). When making these decisions, keep in mind that WRDB can generate reports and graphs on only one Master (or Working) table at a time.