GET /api/v1/index.json
API index. What this API is, its license and attribution, the sections it covers, and every endpoint.
Example: https://the-waterline.com/api/v1/index.json
Sample response
{
"api": "The Waterline Data API",
"version": "v1",
"docs": "https://the-waterline.com/api",
"data_as_of": "2026-11-09",
"data_as_of_label": "Nov 9, 2026",
"data_pulled_at": "2026-11-11T01:08:34.977Z",
"generated_at": "2026-11-11T08:16:52.220Z",
"attribution": "Credit The Waterline (the-waterline.com) with a visible link to the page the figure came from; every record carries its page_url.",
"name": "The Waterline Data API",
"description": "Free JSON for every number published on The Waterline (the-waterline.com): reservoirs, drought, allocations, streamflow, snowpack, history, heatmap. Wet water, not paper water.",
"publisher": {
"name": "The Waterline",
"url": "https://the-waterline.com"
},
"auth": "none",
"cors": "*",
"format": "application/json; charset=utf-8",
"license": "Free to use and republish with attribution; no key or sign-up. The underlying figures are public records from the agencies named in each series' provenance; The Waterline collects, checks and publishes them.",
"update_policy": "Static files rebuilt every time the site rebuilds with new data. data_as_of in each response is the newest observation it holds; data_pulled_at is when the site last pulled its sources.",
"counts": {
"series": 58,
"stats": 11
},
"sections": [
{
"key": "reservoir",
"label": "Reservoirs",
"series": 24,
"example": "https://the-waterline.com/api/v1/series/reservoir/blue-mesa-reservoir.json"
},
{
"key": "drought",
"label": "Drought",
"series": 11,
"example": "https://the-waterline.com/api/v1/series/drought/arizona.json"
},
{
"key": "allocation",
"label": "Allocations",
"series": 1,
"example": "https://the-waterline.com/api/v1/series/allocation/cvp-south-of-delta-agricultural.json"
},
{
"key": "streamflow",
"label": "Streamflow",
"series": 13,
"example": "https://the-waterline.com/api/v1/series/streamflow/american-river-at-fair-oaks.json"
},
{
"key": "snowpack",
"label": "Snowpack",
"series": 5,
"example": "https://the-waterline.com/api/v1/series/snowpack/california.json"
},
{
"key": "history",
"label": "History",
"series": 3,
"example": "https://the-waterline.com/api/v1/series/history/blue-mesa-reservoir.json"
},
{
"key": "heatmap",
"label": "heatmap",
"series": 1,
"example": "https://the-waterline.com/api/v1/series/heatmap/index.json"
}
],
"endpoints": [
{
"method": "GET",
"path": "/api/v1/index.json",
"url": "https://the-waterline.com/api/v1/index.json",
"description": "What this API is, its license and attribution, the sections it covers, and every endpoint."
},
{
"method": "GET",
"path": "/api/v1/latest.json",
"url": "https://the-waterline.com/api/v1/latest.json",
"description": "The newest reading of every data page on The Waterline (58 series): the headline value as the site shows it, the newest point of each charted line with its date, whether it is current, and links to its page and full history."
},
{
"method": "GET",
"path": "/api/v1/stats.json",
"url": "https://the-waterline.com/api/v1/stats.json",
"description": "The 11 headline numbers on the the-waterline.com/stats page, each as a quotable sentence with its data date and a ready-made citation."
},
{
"method": "GET",
"path": "/api/v1/series/{section}/{slug}.json",
"url": "https://the-waterline.com/api/v1/series/reservoir/lake-powell.json",
"description": "Everything behind one data page: every charted point (date + value), the historical band where the page draws one, the page's tables exactly as shown, its source and citation. Find each series_url in latest.json."
},
{
"method": "GET",
"path": "/api/v1/openapi.json",
"url": "https://the-waterline.com/api/v1/openapi.json",
"description": "A machine-readable OpenAPI 3.1 description of these endpoints."
}
]
}