Premium
The USGS Water Availability and Use Science Program: Needs, Establishment, and Goals of a Water Census
Author(s) -
Michelsen Ari M.,
Jones Sonya,
Evenson Eric,
Blodgett David
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/1752-1688.12422
Subject(s) - census , stakeholder , water resources , resource (disambiguation) , work (physics) , water quality , environmental resource management , geological survey , business , environmental planning , water use , environmental science , computer science , political science , population , engineering , environmental health , medicine , mechanical engineering , ecology , computer network , paleontology , public relations , biology
Many reports have recognized the need for a national water census for the United States and have called upon the U.S. Geological Survey to undertake this challenge. For example, the National Science and Technology Council stated: “ The United States has a strong need for an ongoing census of water that describes the status of our Nation's water resource at any point in time and identifies trends over time .” Responding to the need for this information, the U.S. Congress established the SECURE Water Act. The directives are to provide a more accurate assessment of the status of the water resources of the United States; determine the quantity of water available for beneficial uses; identify long‐term trends in water availability; assist in determination of the quality of the water resources; and develop the basis for an improved ability to forecast the availability of water for future economic, energy production, and environmental uses. This article provides summary and new information on the process and progress on work to estimate water budget components nationwide, involvement of stakeholder interests, efforts to examine water‐use characteristics throughout the Nation, studies of water availability in geographically focused areas and the initiation of methods to provide open access to existing and new water resources information contributing to Open Water Data Initiative (OWDI) efforts and objectives.