wtr

wtr is a simple command line client for the Rijkswaterstaat Waterinfo API, allowing users to query all kinds of water measurements from the Netherlands in a convenient way.

All data is retrieved from the WaterWebservices API, which is described here (in dutch). The data is published by Rijkswaterstaat, which is part of the dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

Installation

This software requires Python 3 (tested on 3.10) with the following additional libraries/packages:

• requests

You can use pip to install these, e.g.:

pip install -r requirements.txt

You can copy the wtr file to any place in the system, maybe in your ~/bin directory, or .local/bin, or in /usr/local/bin. Don't forget to give it the correct permissions, e.g.:

chmod 755 /usr/local/bin/wtr

Getting started

To list observations you need two things: the type of measure and the location.

Run this command to obtain a list of available measures:

$ wtr list -c measures
Compartment_Code (Description): Measure (Description) - Note
BS (Bodem/Sediment): ACTVTCCTTE (Activiteitsconcentratie) - Activiteitsconcentratie americium 241 in Bodem/Sediment t.o.v. drooggewicht in Bq/kg
BS (Bodem/Sediment): D10 (maximale korreldiameter voor 10% van het monstervolume) - Maximale korreldiameter voor 10% van het monstervolume Bodem/Sediment t.o.v. drooggewicht in um

Run this command to see all locations, including the available measure(s):

$ wtr list -c locations
Location (Name): Compartment_Code (Description) - Measure (Description)
A12 (A12 platform): LT (Lucht) - WINDRTG (Windrichting)
A12 (A12 platform): LT (Lucht) - WINDSTOOT (Maximale 3" windstoot in de afgelopen 10 minuten)
(...)

So let's say you want information about the flow rate in one of our rivers, dutch stroomsnelheid. First find the corresponding measure, for example:

$ wtr list -c measures | grep -i stroom
OW (Oppervlaktewater): STROOMRTG (Stroomrichting) - Stroomrichting Oppervlaktewater t.o.v. ware Noorden in graad
OW (Oppervlaktewater): STROOMSHD (Stroomsnelheid) - Stroomsnelheid Oppervlaktewater m/s

So the measure we need is named STROOMSHD. Next find locations for this measure:

$ wtr list -c locations | grep STROOMSHD
ALBL (Alblasserdam): OW (Oppervlaktewater) - STROOMSHD (Stroomsnelheid)
ALBSDRTOVR (Alblasserdam rechteroever (nabij brug)): OW (Oppervlaktewater) - STROOMSHD (Stroomsnelheid)
BORNDP (Borndiep): OW (Oppervlaktewater) - STROOMSHD (Stroomsnelheid)
(...)

We are interested in the location ALBL, so let's limit the list

$ wtr observe -l ALBL -m STROOMSHD
#
# Description: Stroomsnelheid Oppervlaktewater m/s
# Compartment: OW (Oppervlaktewater)
# Measure: STROOMSHD (Stroomsnelheid)
# Location: ALBL (Alblasserdam)
#
# Timestamp                      Value
  2023-12-29T06:20:00.000+01:00  -0.427
  2023-12-29T06:30:00.000+01:00  -0.348
  2023-12-29T06:40:00.000+01:00  -0.272
  2023-12-29T06:50:00.000+01:00  -0.227
  2023-12-29T07:00:00.000+01:00  -0.15
  2023-12-29T07:10:00.000+01:00  -0.075
  2023-12-29T07:20:00.000+01:00  0.021
  2023-12-29T07:30:00.000+01:00  0.125
  2023-12-29T07:40:00.000+01:00  0.218
  2023-12-29T07:50:00.000+01:00  0.286
  2023-12-29T08:00:00.000+01:00  0.377
  2023-12-29T08:10:00.000+01:00  0.465
  2023-12-29T08:20:00.000+01:00  0.525
  2023-12-29T08:30:00.000+01:00  0.567
  2023-12-29T08:40:00.000+01:00  0.616
  2023-12-29T08:50:00.000+01:00  0.662
  2023-12-29T09:00:00.000+01:00  0.717
  2023-12-29T09:10:00.000+01:00  0.78

Default the most actual 18 rows are shown, which represents the past 3 hours (most measurements do have a 10 minute interval). If you want to go further back in time, use the --rows (or -r) option, for example:

$ wtr observe -l ALBL -m STROOMSHD -r 144  # 24 hours

Notes:

• Although the list of locations and measures is extensive, not all are currently in use. So for many combinations you will find no actual data. Often you get multiple locations for the same site, only one reporting the requested measure.
• Measure history is limited to 48 hours (288 rows for 10-minute data).

Cache database

Lots of metadata is cached in a small SQLite database. This database is stored in /tmp, the filename is .wtr_cache_<username>.db. The database is created whenever you run wtr for the first time.

Since the metadata gets updated sometimes, it is a good plan to update this cache once in a while. To do so, simply remove the cache file.

About this project

This program was created in a moment of spontaneous creativity, to help out a visually impaired friend. It is a private project, donated to the open source community, and has no affiliation with Rijkswaterstaat or the dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

The official wtr code repository is here.

License

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see https://www.gnu.org/licenses/.