User guide for the Massachusetts Sustainable-Yield Estimator (MA SYE—version 2.0) computer program

This report is a user guide for the Massachusetts Sustainable-Yield Estimator (MA SYE) computer program (version 2.0). The MA SYE was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to provide a planning-level decision-support tool designed to help decision makers estimate daily mean streamflows and selected streamflow statistics to assess sustainable water use at ungaged sites in Massachusetts. The MA SYE provides estimates of unaltered streamflow (which is assumed to occur in the absence of any water withdrawals or wastewater discharges and with minimal human development), net streamflow alterations caused by water use, water-use-adjusted streamflow, streamflow yields (estimated unaltered streamflow minus user-defined flow targets), and estimates of the accuracy and uncertainty of estimated unaltered streamflow. The MA SYE uses basin characteristics and water-use volumes (water withdrawals and wastewater-return flows) obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey online StreamStats application to estimate the unaltered and water-use-adjusted streamflows. The MA SYE is a database application with a graphical user interface developed by using Visual Basic for Applications with the 32-bit version of Microsoft Access. The graphical user interface is designed include full documentation for users: an introductory instruction form and onscreen help within each interactive form, including explanation buttons, context-sensitive help buttons, and tool-tip and status-bar messages.