Program Priorities for 2011

In Reply Refer To:
National Coordinator – Cooperative Water Program
Mail Stop 436
Sunset Date:  October, 2012
October 25, 2010

WATER RESOURCES MISSION AREA INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM NO. 2011.01

Subject:  Priority Issues for the Cooperative Water Program, Fiscal Years 2011/2012

This memorandum describes priority water issues for planning the Cooperative Water Program (CWP) in fiscal year (FY) 2011 to assist Water Science Centers guide their work to meet the  national mission of the  CWP and address the goals of the US Geological Survey (USGS) Science Strategy  http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2007/1309/.  We encourage Water Science Centers to work with their Regional Executives to identify issues that are of local importance to the Cooperator community and can be scaled up to contribute to USGS regional and national assessments through collaboration with other USGS Programs and Mission Areas. This memorandum provides information on many issues of potential interest to Cooperators that will support the development of USGS national science capabilities and assessments. The memorandum also includes an important reminder regarding competition with the private sector. 

Background

For over 100 years, the Cooperative Water Program has operated as a successful partnership between the USGS and local, State, and Tribal water resources agencies (Cooperators). The CWP currently works with over 1500 Cooperators through joint funding agreements that support hydrologic data collection and water resources assessments that meet local hydrologic information needs for resource management while meeting the Federal interest of supporting national hydrologic networks and advancing knowledge of the Nation’s water resources. In FY 10, the CWP supported approximately 4500 stream gages, 10,500 groundwater observation wells and 4500 water-quality monitoring sites, while supporting nearly 700 hydrologic investigations of the quality and quantity of the Nation’s water resources. This vital partnership allows the USGS to provide high-quality Federal science to local water resources managers in addressing their pressing water management concerns, while at the same time, providing basic data that serves as a foundation for USGS national hydrologic networks and information on local water resource systems upon which many USGS national assessments are built. The collection of hydrologic information to well documented,  nationally consistent standards provides a foundation for water resources decision making at the local, regional, and national scales. Water Science Centers in conducting work through the Cooperative Water Program must consider both the local water information needs of the Cooperating agency while assuring that the work is conducted at an appropriate, scale, location, and manner so that it contributes to USGS national hydrologic networks and regional and national hydrologic assessments.

High-Priority Issues for Coop Program Involvement

The USGS water-resources headquarters staff; in consultation with Water Science Center and USGS Regional managers, external organizations, and cooperators, have identified water-related issues that closely align with the USGS Science Strategy and local hydrologic information needs. These issues are organized by the appropriate USGS Science Strategy theme and are shown below.

It should be noted that the maintenance of USGS national hydrologic-data networks constitutes the foundation for watershed and aquifer management throughout the country and serve as a basis for national synthesis and resource assessments conducted by numerous USGS programs.  The information these networks provide contributes essential information to all USGS Science Strategy themes and sustaining these networks continues to be a high priority for the CWP.  Present and future USGS initiatives will require access to a comprehensive, uniform, and accurate foundation of surface-water, ground-water, water-quality, and water-use data of national scope.  Large amounts of water data and specialized interpretation often are required for management of the resource and for water-rights determination by State and Federal agencies, as well as for development and operation of models to simulate and forecast hydrologic events.  Enhancement of the hydrologic-data networks; improved accessibility and presentation of available information, such as an increase in the availability of real-time data for surface water, ground water and water quality, presenting regional summaries of current conditions, and coordination of program activities with those of other agencies and USGS Programs continue to be high-priority activities for the CWP. We therefore strongly encourage Water Science Centers to continue to allocate CWP funding for basic data networks to at least the same level provided in 2010 – see appendix A for a table of basic data funding by cost center.

Hazards

Hydrologic Hazards-- Economic losses from riverine and storm surge floods, debris flows, and droughts amount to several billion dollars annually.  Monitoring the occurrence and magnitude of these extreme events and studying the basic processes underlying these hazards will lead to improving the ability to forecast probability of occurrence and likely magnitudes, and help prepare for, respond to, and prevent disasters.  Needs in this category also include development and public dissemination of near-real time and forecast inundation maps for specific floods, studies of increased flood potential following large-scale forest fires, and studies of the effects of changes in dam operations, including decommissioning of dams and studies of the impact of urbanization.  Revision of flood insurance rate maps is a national priority that provides an opportunity to develop improved information on regional flood characteristics and more efficient methods of flood-plain mapping. 

Water Census

Water Availability and Use— The future health and economic welfare of the Nation’s population is dependent upon a continuing supply of useable freshwater.  Many existing sources of water are being stressed by increasing withdrawals to support growing communities and economic development. At the same time our understanding of environmental flow requirements has made water resources managers sensitive to the need to maintain stream flows for healthy ecosystems. More comprehensive water-use data and analysis of water-use information are needed to quantify the stress on existing supplies and to better model and evaluate possible demand management options to supplement the traditional supply approaches.  Improved watershed characterization and flow-system definition and simulation also are needed for the management of aquifers and streams that serve as important local or regional sources of water supply and for the management and support of watershed ecosystems.  Because aquifers and streams often are highly interdependent, improved tools for simulating interactions between ground and surface water that account quantitatively for effects of withdrawals and climate variations also are needed so that watersheds can be managed more readily as systems.  Long-term hydrologic data and hydrologic systems models that are capable of showing the consequences of climatic variability or climate change on available water supplies will be very helpful to local water managers.

 Ecosystem Change

Water Quality—The need to provide information to better define and protect the quality of the Nation’s water resources remains among the highest CWP priorities.  Water-quality activities that support Federal, State, local, or Tribal efforts to improve water quality and stream ecosystems in degraded watersheds across the country and to improve the availability and dissemination of water-quality information to all potential users are of vital interest.  Through partnerships with State and local agencies, the Coop Program can assist efforts by addressing issues that include:  (1) providing a more quantitative understanding of the sources and fate of chemicals entering streams, including atmospheric deposition of potential pollutants such as mercury; (2) determining the effects of land use and management practices for controlling non-point source contamination of surface and ground waters by energy development, including coal bed methane extraction, abandoned and active mining, and agriculture; (3) understanding the relationships between water quality and the health of stream ecosystems; (4) characterizing linkages between hazards, such as wildfires, on water quality and ecosystem health; (5) assisting States in setting Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements of the Clean Water Act; (6) improving strategies to identify and protect drinking water sources; and (7) increasing the availability of water-quality information, including real-time data, for rivers and coastal waters throughout the Nation.

Environmental Flows - One of most pressing questions to aquatic ecologists, hydrologists, and water resource and wildlife managers is understanding the hydrologic flow regime that must be maintained in order to sustain a healthy aquatic community. The Cooperative Water Program is in a strong position to develop and test tools and techniques that can be used nationwide to help resource managers understand water use and ecosystem function. Specifically, studies are needed to understand the ecological requirements of the affected aquatic communities and how they can be safeguarded from the potentially detrimental effects of ground-water depletion, altered water levels and flows of our nation’s lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, and estuaries

Estuaries, Wetlands, Lakes, and Reservoirs —These valuable ecosystems merit special attention from the USGS because of their importance as fish and wildlife habitats, recreational areas, and sources of water supply for which the Department of the Interior (DOI) has substantial mission responsibility.  Estuaries, wetlands, and lakes are important rearing grounds for fish and many other aquatic species at the base of the food chain. Other ecosystem services provided by these systems include storing flood waters and filtering out sediment and contaminants from waters transported from upper parts of watersheds. Around the country, estuaries, wetlands, and lakes have been targeted by water managers for protection and restoration because of the value of these systems to improving ecosystem health and for flood protection.  Studies that integrate and contribute to a better understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological processes of these ecosystems and their watersheds are needed to evaluate development and management alternatives.

Water Resources Issues in the Coastal Zone—Effects of land use and population increases on the water resources in the coastal zone are major national concerns.  Hydrologic monitoring and studies are needed to address issues of erosion, loss of wetlands, subsidence, saltwater intrusion, and problems associated with excessive nutrients, disease-causing micro-organisms, and toxic chemicals, originating upstream from industrial activities and agricultural practices.  These pollutants can degrade habitat and health of fish and other wildlife and make beaches and other areas unsuitable for shellfish harvesting and recreational use.  The 2004 recommendation of the Ocean Policy Commission that the U.S. establish an integrated monitoring network for marine and freshwater resources gives added weight to the issue of monitoring fluxes of water and materials from rivers to oceans.

Human Health

Environmental Effects on Human Health—Major gaps exist with regard to understanding the processes and activities leading to the exposure of toxic or human disease-causing contaminants.  Issues include:  (1) waterborne microbiological threats to human health, including bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and potentially toxic algae, and tracking their sources in watersheds; (2) bioaccumulation of trace elements in plants and fish that humans eat; (3) naturally-occurring contaminants, such as arsenic, radium, and trace elements; (4) occurrence and persistence of harmful organic compounds in ground waters, rivers, and reservoirs; and (5) so-called “emerging contaminants” such as antibiotics, hormones, and the metabolites of pesticides.

Drinking Water — Providing clean, safe drinking water to citizens is a high national priority.  The CWP works with State and local governments to assess the quality of the Nation’s drinking water supply.  With many partners, the USGS is developing an understanding of natural and human factors that affect surface- and ground-water quality, providing early indications of potential water-quality problems and contributing to the long-term management and protection of groundwater resources that serve as a water supply for nearly half of all Americans. 

Climate Variability and Change

Identifying and Forecasting Change - Measuring the effects of climate change and variability on water resources will be an important element in developing adaptation strategies for agriculture, industry, water supplies, and aquatic ecosystems. State, local, Tribal, and Federal decision makers are interested in understanding changes in the distribution, quantity, quality, and demand for water in response to climate change and variability. USGS hydrologic networks and USGS modeling capabilities will be essential to identify and forecast changes to hydrologic systems. This type of information is critical to water resources managers and central to USGS initiatives under the Water Census and Climate Change Mission Area. Significant partnership opportunities should exist between numerous USGS programs and the Cooperator community through the CWP.

Energy and Minerals

Environmental Restoration – Minerals development left numerous legacy sites with degraded soils and water resources. The USGS works with State, local, and Tribal agencies through the CWP to define the nature and scope of contamination to assist in developing restoration plans and evaluating restoration actions. This work has led to advances in the understanding of the geochemistry of mine wastes and aided in the transfer of reclamation techniques. Much of this work is site-specific in nature, but has broad transfer value. There is an obvious link with the USGS Energy and Minerals Programs and the opportunity to bring USGS capabilities in geology, geochemistry, and hydrology to bear in these oftentimes technically difficult legacy issues.

Energy Development – The energy-water nexus is increasingly being recognized as one of the Nation’s most important water resources issues. Water is in greater demand to help assist the Nation work towards the goal of energy independence. Water is needed to support the production of biofuels, power hydroelectric plants, and provide cooling water for generation of electricity. Energy development also has the potential to affect the quality and quantity of water resources through the extraction of coal-bed methane, natural gas from shale deposits, and shale-oil. These issues are of great concern to State, local and tribal water managers, and the CWP is addressing a number of these issues in a variety of environments. This topic is relevant to the USGS Energy Program and Water Census and the CWP serves as an opportunity to partner with both of these Programs and the Cooperator community to address this increasingly important issue.

In order to avoid competition with the private sector, we must continue to ensure that each study we undertake helps fulfill one or more of the Federal roles described in WRD Memorandum No. 04.01, “Avoiding Competition with the Private Sector”  (http://water.usgs.gov/admin/memo/policy/wrdpolicy04.01.html)  In general, if the project provides services readily available from the private sector and is driven solely by an operational need of the cooperator to meet an information requirement for a permit or regulation, we should not undertake it.  However, if services are not readily available from the private sector or the cooperator’s operational need can be satisfied along with one or more of the following broader WRD mission goals, then the work may be considered appropriate.  These broader goals, as enumerated in WRD Memorandum No. 04.01, are:

• advancing knowledge of the regional hydrologic system
• advancing field or analytical methodology
• advancing understanding of hydrologic processes
• providing data or results useful to multiple parties in potentially contentious inter-jurisdictional conflicts over water resources
• furnishing hydrologic data required for interstate and international compacts, Federal law, court decrees, and  congressionally mandated studies
• furnishing hydrologic data or information that contribute to protection of life and property
• providing standardized, quality-assured data to national data bases available to the public that will be used to advance the understanding of regional and temporal variations in hydrologicconditions. 

Projects under discussion for cooperative funding sometimes contain a mixture of tasks, some of which meet these criteria, while others may not.  Water Science Centers are encouraged to work with their cooperators to identify these non-appropriate tasks and to facilitate participation of the private sector in accomplishing them.  When these opportunities arise, we need to emphasize to our staffs the need to foster a close working relationship with private consulting firms to ensure the successful completion of the project. 

/signed/

Ward W. Staubitz
National Coordinator – Cooperative Water Program

Copy to:  REX”s
Distribution:  A, B, DC, S, FO, PO
This memorandum supersedes WRD INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM NO. 2007.01

The memorandum is being distributed by e-mail only

Appendix A – table showing the FY 2010 funding for basic data networks – 01,02,03,04 for each cost center is attached as a separate file