This dataset represents the dam density and storage volumes within individual local and accumulated upstream catchments for NHDPlusV2 Waterbodies based on the National Anthropogenic Barrier Dataset (NABD).

        Catchment boundaries in LakeCat are defined in one of two ways, on-network or off-network. The on-network catchment boundaries follow the catchments provided in the NHDPlusV2 and the metrics for these lakes mirror metrics from StreamCat, but will substitute the COMID of the NHDWaterbody for that of the NHDFlowline. The off-network catchment framework uses the NHDPlusV2 flow direction rasters to define non-overlapping lake-catchment boundaries and then links them through an off-network flow table.

        The main objective of this project was to develop a dataset of large, anthropogenic barriers that are spatially linked to the National Hydrography Dataset Plus Version 1 (NHDPlusV1) for the conterminous U.S. to facilitate GIS analyses based on the NHDPlusV1/NHD and NID datasets. To meet this objective, Michigan State University conducted a spatial linkage of the point dataset of the 2009 National Inventory of Dams (NID) created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to the NHDPlusV1/NHD. The pool of dam data included were modified based on 1) dam removals that occurred after development of the 2009 NID and 2) the identification of duplicate dam records along state boundaries (cases where more than one state reported the same dam). The US Geological Survey (USGS) Aquatic GAP Program supported this work.

        The (dams/catchment) and (dam_storage/catchment) were summarized and accumulated into watersheds to produce local catchment-level and watershed-level metrics as a point data type.