Toward a Sustainable and Secure Water Future A Leadership Role for the U.S. Geological Survey (2009) / Chapter Skim
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3 Preparing For Tomorrow
3 Preparing For Tomorrow
Pages 48-74
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From page 48... ...
To set the stage for tomorrow and provide context to look to the future, in this chapter we describe problematic trends and water resource issues that will shape the priorities that USGS water programs need to address to meet society's needs. We also briefly review components of the WRD's planning process, working with stakeholders to identify and establish priorities.
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From page 49... ...
. In many regions, water allocation conflicts already occur and will become worse in the future because of over-allocation of water coupled to increasing population growth and foreseeable droughts.
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From page 50... ...
The hydrologic regimen of any given region of the country is influenced by regional climate, but also design and operation of our infrastructure, including water and wastewater collection, storage and distribution, electric power generation, residential and commercial buildings, roads and bridges, and agriculture. Access to sufficient water has become and will continue to be a difficult problem throughout the United States, not only in the southwestern states that rely on well-recognized, declining surface water and groundwater resources (Figure 3-1)
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From page 51... ...
. CLIMATE CHANGE WILL MAKE WATER RESOURCES CHALLENGES MORE DIFFICULT Climate change and its projected impact on hydrologic "stationarity" (that the climatic and anthropogenic controls over the hydrologic cycle
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From page 52... ...
These projected trends portend future difficulties the country will face with respect to availability and distribution of water resources.
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From page 53... ...
that broadly can be forecasted. Recognizing and exploring the hydrologic significance of these changes requires both a vigilant monitoring program and a sophisticated water science monitoring agency such as the WRD.
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From page 54... ...
Water quality has improved in U.S. waters with the implementation of the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act (and other environmental protection programs)
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From page 55... ...
The EPA's redefinition of its Contaminant Candidate List for drinking water (USEPA, 2008a; http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw /ccl/ccl3.html) and the USGS WRD's assessment of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs)
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From page 56... ...
Ultimately, society may redefine the value of water both in the ecological context, i.e., Endangered Species and Clean Water Acts, and as an economic good. WATER PRICES WILL RISE "Fortunately, as each year passes, more countries, institutions and indi viduals are realizing that we don't just have a water problem – we have an impending water crisis.
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From page 57... ...
and as a percentage of household income (Job, 2008) , than in most other developed countries, and enjoy a relatively high level of water quality.
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From page 58... ...
The debate will include arguments about the nature of water as a mixed good, having public and private elements; transboundary issues related to water allocation; ecosystem vs. other societal needs; the approach to valuing water; the impact of rising prices and social equity; the costs and benefits of a range of engineering and social solutions; the variability inherent in the hydroclimatic processes and the spatial distribution of water resources; and more.
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From page 59... ...
USGS flow data for the Potomac River are being used extensively to optimize releases from headwater reservoirs to meet the water release requirements for water supplies, as well as for fishing, commercial raft trips, and recreational kayakers. Federal, state, and local government managers and water resource associations, all recognize that they need more and better water data and improved water science -- a subset of which is the need for improved analytical approaches that will contribute to new, adaptive strategies for management (e.g., Freas et al., 2008; GAO 2003)
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From page 60... ...
WRD PLANNING, PRIORITIES, AND STAKEHOLDERS The Water Resources Discipline planning process, to identify priorities and programmatic thrusts, involves interaction and input from their stakeholders at the national and regional level and also with a multitude of stakeholders at the state and local levels. Examined here, this also provides additional context looking toward the future in Chapter 4.
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From page 61... ...
auspices, such as the Subcommittee on Water Availability and Quality and the Subcommittee on Hydrology. In addition to federal agency stakeholders, the list of engaged national and regional cooperators and interest groups that USGS works with is long, including groups such as: the Association of State Flood Plain Managers, the National Association of Flood and Storm Water Management Agencies, the Association of State Geologists, the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, the Interstate Council on Water Policy, the National Water Resources Association, the National Wildlife Federation, the Western States Water Council, and many others.
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From page 62... ...
Operationally, the four regional hydrologists and/or regional program officers meet with their water Science Center directors to review strategic directions, trends, issues, and water resource problems which become input for a regional summary, which then feeds into emerging national priorities. Annually, Science Center directors meet with senior WRD national
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From page 63... ...
Staff in Science Center offices collaborated with state agencies to compile needed data and analyses on an aquifer system in their area -- then the various state data were synthesized into a Regional Analysis of aquifers that span multi-state areas, to provide the overview and information for forecasts that contributed to improved management of these important groundwater resources. As an illustration of the benefits of the bottom-up process, the awareness of pharmaceuticals in the nation's waters began at the local level when USGS and cooperating state and university scientists conducted studies and documented veterinary drugs in local surface water as a result of discharge from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO's)
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From page 64... ...
, reveals that the only major component of the WRD budget that has risen significantly in real terms since 1990 is the State and Local Reimbursable Coop funding for the Coop program, (i.e., non-federal) , matching funds from local cooperators.
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From page 65... ...
DATA SOURCE: USGS. Inflation Adjusted Water Resourecs Discipline Budget; Fiscal Years 1990 - 2006 Reimbursable 500 Other 400 Reimbursable State & Local Million USD 300 COOP Reimbursable Other Fed 200 Agencies WRD COOP 100 Appropriated 0 WRD Appropriated 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 19 9 19 9 19 9 19 9 19 9 19 9 19 9 19 9 19 9 19 9 20 0 20 0 20 0 20 0 20 0 20 0 20 0 Fiscal Year FIGURE 3-7 The Water Resources Discipline budget in real dollars (inflation adjusted to fiscal year 2000)
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From page 66... ...
DATA SOURCE: USGS. Inflation Adjusted Water Resources Discipline Research Program; Fiscal Years 1990-2006 $45,000,000 Appropriated Reimbursable $40,000,000 $35,000,000 $30,000,000 USD $25,000,000 $20,000,000 $15,000,000 $10,000,000 $5,000,000 $0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 199 199 199 199 199 199 199 199 199 199 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 Fiscal Year FIGURE 3-9 Inflation adjusted Water Resources Discipline research funding (adjusted to fiscal year 2000)
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From page 67... ...
While the Coop program relationships have had widespread positive influences on the application of science to water resources, increased state and local support raises some concern about the ability to concentrate Coop resources on national to regional-scale priorities. The NRC's report on NSIP (NRC, 2004b)
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From page 68... ...
DATA SOURCE: USGS. Water Resources Discipline Headquarters and National Research Program Staff Levels 500 450 Number of Employees 400 350 300 250 200 150 NRP Staff 100 WRD HQ Staff 50 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 199 199 199 199 199 199 199 199 199 199 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 Fiscal Year FIGURE 3-11 Staffing of the National Research Program (NRP)
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From page 69... ...
The net effect has been a decline in research grade staff and a decentralization of WRD's research capacity. The re-distribution of research hydrologists to the Science Centers has promoted a higher level of science in the "field," but possibly to the detriment of the NRP.
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From page 70... ...
DATA SOURCE: USGS. Percent Water Resources Discipline Hydrologists Older than Age 51 70% 60% 50% % > Age 51 40% 30% 20% All WRD Hydrologists 10% NRP Hydrologists 0% 90 95 00 05 06 07 19 19 20 20 20 20 Fiscal Year FIGURE 3-14 Percentage of National Research Program (NRP)
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From page 71... ...
, and we state as well the WRD will not be able to meet their missions or the challenges ahead for nation's water resources if such trends continue. THE USGS WRD CAN ADD VALUE TO WATER RESOURCE DEBATES The WRD has a legacy that can enable it to provide leadership and valuable information toward resolving water resource debates and assessments in the United States.
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From page 72... ...
DATA SOURCE: USGS. Percentage National Research Program Hydrologists by Age Group; 2007 50% 45% % NRP Hydrologists 40% P e rc e n t (% )
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From page 73... ...
What we are describing is a long-standing WRD tradition of studying the impact of human activities on natural resources such as land, water resources, and ecosystems. This fundamental tradition facilitates, not only thorough effective assessments by the agency itself, and it prepares WRD personnel to collaborate with and even to provide interdisciplinary leadership among other agencies, that generally have a more narrow disciplinary focus in, for example, atmospheric science, or land and wildlife management.
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From page 74... ...
74 Toward A Sustainable and Secure Water Future has become the signature environmental issue of our age, and the USGS, and particularly WRD, are ideally suited to play a leadership role in a national strategy for sustainable resource management.
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