Future Water Priorities for the Nation Directions for the U.S. Geological Survey Water Mission Area (2018) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix A: The U.S. Geological Survey Water Mission Area
Appendix A: The U.S. Geological Survey Water Mission Area
Pages 69-82
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From page 69... ...
WMA is recognized for its high-quality, unbiased hydrologic data and scientific information. USGS is the world's largest outlet of water data, integrating nearly 350 million sample results from more than 400 organizations.2 In addition to the millions of monthly users of online data, USGS delivers numerous scientific reports and journal articles annually.3 These 1 Following a 1954 Supreme Court ruling, USGS serves as River Master on the Delaware River, coordinating the release of water (among Delaware, New Jersey, New York, New York City, and Pennsylvania)
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From page 70... ...
and headquarters.4 More than 60 percent of WMA personnel are classified as hydrologists or hydrologic technicians (see Figure A.1) , reflecting its current emphasis on collection and analysis of water resources data.
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From page 71... ...
Science support for these centers comes from a series of USGS laboratory and technical facilities, such as the National Water Quality Laboratory in Lakewood, Colorado, and the Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. These facilities help USGS personnel and cooperators conduct studies and analyze water quantity and quality issues throughout the nation, its territories and the U.S.-associated Pacific Islands by providing broad analytical services, assisting in processing samples, providing instrumentation and training for deployment and maintenance of sensors, as well as processing data and making them available to the public.
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From page 72... ...
5. Deliver timely hydrologic data, analyses, and decision-support tools seamlessly across the nation to support water-resources decisions.7 WMA's various programs, subprograms, divisions, and WSCs work to achieve these five stated goals through observing the water cycle, improving understanding of critical processes, predicting changes in water availability and quality over time, and delivering water science data and information to the federal, state, and local agencies, the public, tribes, and industry to support informed decision-making.
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From page 73... ...
. In addition to hydrologic and observational networks, USGS collaborates with various national research laboratories across the United States in various programs, including those at USGS facilities such as the National Water Quality Laboratory and the Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility.
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A related research program, the National Water Census, develops analytical tools and explores links between water use and water quality. This program distributes watershed- and county-based water budget data online through the National Water Census Data Portal.
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In most WSCs, the Coop Program supports multiple applied water science projects under the broad umbrella of understanding the water cycle. These studies are usually focused on local or regional needs and often have significant field components.
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Coordinated by USGS through NIWR, these institutes have historically received modest base funding from WMA, which is then leveraged significantly by the universities and through extramural grants obtained by university scientists and students through the State Water Research Grant Program; while the National Water Research Grants Program funds research of national importance.16 The institutes serve as local hubs for promoting technology and information transfer between university and USGS scientists, and the academic connections are critical for helping train the next generation of water scientists and engineers, some of whom go on to have careers within USGS. In addition to the Coop Program, WSCs, and NIWR, WMA collaborates extensively with federal agencies on a wide variety of national projects and science related activities.
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From page 77... ...
SPARROW models provide statistical estimates about the origin, transportation, and fate of nutrients and contaminants moving through watersheds, linking monitoring data to watershed hydrology.18 These models help managers determine how to reduce contaminant loads, predict water quality changes, design management strategies, and change policies. Similarly, the MODFLOW family of groundwater flow codes allows simulation and prediction of groundwater conditions as well as groundwater–surface water interactions.19 USGS also leads integrative modeling efforts, such as the National Hydrologic Model, in addition to providing foundational support to the development of the National Water Model led by the National Weather Service (see Box 2.1)
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From page 78... ...
In addition to critical data collection around surface water and groundwater quantity and quality, WMA provides information on flood inundation; acid rain, atmospheric deposition, and precipitation; chemistry; biological communities and physical habitat; reservoir sedimentation; and water-use data. Much of these data are accessible through the National Water Information System (NWIS)
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From page 79... ...
Cross-Cutting Science with Other USGS Mission Areas Because water science is a fundamental part of most Earth system studies, WMA programs and activities are substantially linked to the work of other USGS mission areas (Evenson et al., 2013)
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. While USGS cooperators and data users expressed many opinions relevant to their regional or local needs, a majority commended USGS for its extensive hydrologic monitoring network, stakeholder collaborations with USGS scientists on numerous investigations, and much of the cooperative work that WMA does with local, state, and regional agencies.
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From page 81... ...
Similar to numerous federal staff, state agency staff value existing USGS datasets and expressed interest in expansion of the existing monitoring networks. The committee heard from a number of state agency representatives about issues that impact their ability to work with USGS, including cooperator limitations, a concern about base funding for the streamgage network, and a perceived pressure that USGS needs to work on any project with funding, whether within its purview or not.
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From page 82... ...
Other stakeholders expressed a desire for USGS to decrease the amount of time to process and make data publicly available. Stakeholders at all levels encouraged USGS to work to improve model integration between surface water and groundwater, emphasizing how beneficial this would be in their own work.
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