Hydro 21 Workplan To: "E - All WRD Employees" Subject: Hydro 21 Workplan Date: Fri, 28 Feb 1997 14:18:14 -0700 From: "Alicia M Hinds, Secretary, Tucson, AZ" From: "Nick B Melcher, District Chief, AZ, Tucson, AZ" WRD employees, Attached for your information is the Workplan for the Hydro 21 committee. The overall objective of the committee is to identify and incorporate new technologies into the USGS hydrologic-data network. This will be accomplished by developing a technology network that will improve our access to new relevant technologies. The technology network will be developed through attendance at conferences, industry fairs, contacts with major research facilities, and through querying USGS staff for useful ideas and technologies. After reading the workplan, if you have contacts or ideas regarding new technologies or changes that may be useful for our hydrologic data program, please contact one of the committee members by phone or email. The committee is intended to be an information broker on new technologies and therefore is very interested in any ideas or opportunities that our staff might identify. The Hydro 21 committee is preparing a master list of conferences and research organization that we would like to contact to learn more about new technologies that might have application to our data programs. Considering the size of the list and the various locations, it will be necessary at times to call for local assistance for these contacts. Requests for this assistance will normally be made by a committee member to the District Chief. Nominal costs for conference attendance will be reimbursed. Conference attendants will be asked to provide a short description of the conference, description of any technologies identified, and the names and phone numbers needed for follow-up discussions. Beyond this master list, if your are aware of any forums for technology please consider attending and reporting. Any reimbursement for attendance will need the prior approval of the Hydro 21 committee. I believe there is a concern and a broad interest in advancing the technology in our data programs. Recognizing this as a critical need, the Chief Hydrologist and Senior Staff have developed and supported this formalized process for identifying and incorporating new technologies. Your ideas and cooperation will be important for the success of the this initiative. Thanks, Nick HYDRO 21 WORKPLAN INTRODUCTION The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will benefit from a more formalized process to assess and incorporate new technologies within the hydrologic-data network. During the past 20 years, great progress has been made in hydrologic-data handling and data dissemination. This progress includes the utilization of electronic-data storage, satellite telemetry, and automated-data processing. These changes have had an enormous effect on productivity related to data reduction and on the speed and timeliness of information dissemination. Despite the progress achieved in data handling, many of the methods for the associated hydrologic-field measurements were developed over 50 years ago and remain unchanged. These methods are time proven and the reliability of the methods are highly regarded by water managers and legal authorities. The methods for computing discharge require periodic direct measurements of river width, depth, and velocity and require continual monitoring of river stage. The labor, travel, and equipment needed for these measurements are a major part of the costs associated with hydrologic-data collection. To date, there have been few changes in field procedures for hydrologic-data collection. The costs and limitations associated with these methods are severely affecting the ability of the USGS to provide critical hydrologic information needed for resource assessment, future planning, economic growth, and natural-hazard mitigation. Much of the progress that has been attributed to the data-handling side of the Division data program are the result of the successful use of mass-marketed computer hardware for data reduction, compilation, and dissemination. Unfortunately, the hydrologic-field measurements represents a highly specialized technology with a very small market. Consequently, industry has been reluctant to invest in research and development for products for specific applications for this small market. In 1995, a committee evaluating specific instrument needs for the USGS, Water Resources Division (WRD), estimated that the cost of developing 38 priority hydrologic instruments during the next 5 years to be $36.2 million. USGS funds to support this level of Research and Development are not available. Many of the technological needs of our data programs are being investigated for parallel needs by other fields of science. The fields of medicine, transportation, engineering, communication, and defense have large research and development budgets and are investigating new methods for making measurements in fluid medium. Recognizing the paucity of the hydrologic market and the limited inducement for industry to aggressively market new products, it is incumbent for WRD to play an active role in seeking out new technologies that are being developed or utilized by other fields of science. In order to achieve a more active role, the Chief Hydrologist established the committee "Hydro 21" to develop mechanisms by which new technologies are identified and incorporated into the WRD data programs. The committee was established under WRD Memo No. 96.34 and is charged with developing this workplan as a document to describe the committee objectives and approach for identifying and incorporating new technologies for the USGS. PURPOSE AND SCOPE The purpose of the Hydro 21 committee is to identify and incorporate new technologies into the USGS hydrologic-data network and to ensure the vitality of these programs. The core membership includes a District Chief, a representative from the National Research Program, and a regional specialist. The charter members include: Nick Melcher, Arizona District Chief; Ralph Cheng, National Research Program; and Bob Bubeck, Western Region Water-Quality Specialist. The committee will examine technologies that may be useful for data collection related to the surficial portion of river systems. This committee will produce a documented procedure to achieve the committee purpose (this work plan) and will produce periodic briefing papers and a final committee report in FY98. The committee will submit an annual budget to the Chief of the Office of Surface Water to defray salary and travel costs for committee members and selected personnel on assignments. Creating Technology Network The success of the Hydro 21 committee is fundamentally dependent on the development of a diverse network of contacts. These contacts need to be developed from other organizational units of the USGS, with other federal agencies, industry, universities, and research organizations. Improved contacts need to be developed in the fields of medicine, transportation, engineering, communication, and defense to better utilize the research and development resources available for these disciplines. This network will be developed through a number of mechanisms that include attendance at relevant conferences and industry fairs, contacts through colleagues, correspondence, and visits to major research facilities. These contacts can be made directly by the committee members, through USGS personnel in proximity to the conference or fair, or through the many ancillary WRD groups interested in new technologies such as the Instrumentation Committee, the National Research Program, and the WRD discipline technical offices. An Internet home page will be developed for Hydro 21 that will describe the objective of the initiative and invite external groups to present relevant ideas and opportunities to Hydro 21 committee members. Identifying Potential Technologies As the technology network is being developed, the Hydro 21 committee members or local personnel will proceed with attending targeted conferences, industrial fairs, and making external contacts. The committee members will become informed on related external events and share information as opportunities are identified. Assignments will be made for each committee member related to background, interest, or need. Committee members will attend conferences or make direct contacts with targeted groups if their direct participation is considered necessary. The majority of the contacts probably can be made by using local WRD contacts in proximity with the conference or targeted groups. The Hydro 21 committee will meet periodically to review progress and evaluate new technologies. Depending on topics or technologies scheduled to be discussed at these periodic meetings, topical experts will be invited to better assess the technologies and make initial recommendation on the suitability for use in the hydrologic-data program. As particular technologies show promise, the Chief of the Office of Surface Water and appropriate senior staff members will be advised of the general plans for pursuing these technologies and the possible opportunities for use in the hydrologic-data programs. Senior staff will be appraised of the general committee progress on a regular basis. The resources and infrastructure for assessing, testing, and procuring instrumentation presently exists in the present ITAS/ICOM/HIF organizations. These resources should be fully utilized by the Hydro 21 Committee. As the Identifying Potential Technologies phase develops, any off-the-shelf instruments that are deemed suitable for the hydrologic-data programs will be passed on to these existing groups. Process for Assessing Technology If an identified technology is recognized to have significant potential by the committee, a written document will be prepared that will describe the technology, explain its application to the USGS hydrologic-data programs, relate the technology to present data standards and describe the potential benefits for implementation in the data networks. The document will be sent to knowledgeable colleagues within and external to WRD, other interested agencies, cooperators, and researchers for review and comment. After the review of the document is completed, the Hydro 21 committee will review the comments and make a second determination of the suitability of the technology for use in the USGS data programs. If, after considering the feedback from the various groups providing the review, it is determined that the technology is feasible and beneficial, the Hydro 21 committee will organize a focused workgroup to consider all of the elements related to assessing and implementing this technology. These might include: 1.Costs for further research and development. 2.Time plan for incorporating technology. 3.How technology relates to present field infrastructure. 4.Projected unit costs for technology. 5.Compliance with present data standards. 6.Coordination with existing data telemetry, databases, computer hardware, and data-dissemination resources. 7.Implementation within WRD. 8.Acceptance by the cooperator community. The focus workgroup will prepare a final briefing paper addressing these issues and making recommendations regarding the proposed technology. These briefing papers are planned to be prepared during FY97. Process for Development and Prototyping The process for development and prototyping this technology will be very dependent on the research level of the proposed technology, costs involved with implementation, and the potential impact on the overall data programs. Existing organization units will be needed to facilitate the technology development and prototyping. If funding and resources for implementation are substantial, it may be advantageous for Senior Staff or a subset of Senior Staff to oversee or provide close liaison with development and prototyping. If the ways and means to develop the technology exist, it may be appropriate to have the focus group or a committee established by the Hydro 21 committee maintain oversight during development and prototyping. If the major development and prototyping effort consists of developing industrial specifications, the resources of HIF and ICOM probably would be best suited for oversight. Other units that might provide support for this phase are the technical offices, the National Research Program, the Assistant Chief Hydrologist of Technical Support, and the Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Water Information. As the Development and Prototyping phase proceeds, the Hydro 21 committee will provide for appropriate interaction with data collectors, users, and other affected groups. This is necessary to ensure that adequate preparations are made at all levels to facilitate the future implementation of the technology. Affected groups could include data- collection personnel, data-base managers, software developers, computer-procurement personnel, modelers, researchers, cooperators, and equipment vendors. The interaction needs to be a part of the overall development process and can be accomplished through periodic written updates, briefings, and through external contacts. Funding The level of funding and funding sources is likewise very dependent on the technology identified. If funding needs for refining and incorporating the technology are substantial, it will likely be necessary to seek a line-item appropriation. This will require a formalized justification showing the technology to be a major breakthrough with far- reaching implications, and also will require the support of groups that depend on WRD information. If it is determined that a separate line-item appropriation is needed, then Hydro 21 and the focus group should be prepared to present clear documentation of the need and value for advancing this technology. Some form of working field test will probably be necessary to secure this level of support. If line-item funding is not possible and the benefits for incorporating these technologies are clear and demonstrated, it may be necessary to redirect existing funds to support development. Districts may be willing to bear the incremental costs of implementation if the savings are obvious and immediate; however, block funding for research development and tests will need to be handled from a common source. If only seed money is needed to develop a prototype, it is anticipated that ICOM project funds could be directed in support of this technology. If the research and development are relatively simple and the technology only requires testing and demonstration, it is feasible that the effort be conducted as a backyard project. These funding suggestions are intended to provide some ideas regarding possible outcomes. In reality, incorporating any technology will probably require activities and funding from a number of sources for the various phases in development and implementation and will require support and commitment from many organizational levels. Process for Implementation The actual implementation of the technology can be the most problematic step in the process. The WRD distributed field organization and system of local agreements makes it very difficult to implement fundamental changes in a consistent, systematic manner. If the technology is to be implemented using local support, the benefits need to be immediate and obvious and the resulting data will need to be above reproach. Recognizing that these results are unlikely, implementation will need to follow a several step process that will test the technology, demonstrate results, and provide opportunities to communicate the advantages of the technology. The likely process for implementation will probably start with a limited, targeted test of the technology. An appropriate watershed or region will be selected to provide a limited areal test to measure the effectiveness and the acceptability of the technology. The results of this limited test will be compared to the acceptance elements developed by the focus group. If the test results are encouraging, it would probably be beneficial to expand the test into a demonstration that could be used to provide internal training, brief cooperators, and secure additional support for the use of the technology. The success of the tests needs to be carefully analyzed and the results published in a WRD series report. Depending on the scope, cost, and overall implications of the technology to the hydrologic-data program, WRD may need to develop a policy that will facilitate, encourage, or mandate the use of this technology. SUMMARY To improve the efficiency of the hydrologic-data collection program and to provide more and better information to data users, the USGS needs to identify and incorporate new technologies. To facilitate this important goal, the Chief Hydrologist initiated a new committee "Hydro 21" to oversee and formalize this process. The committee will develop a network for which to identify new technologies that are being used or developed by other organization units of the USGS, other federal agencies, industry, universities, and other research organizations. Any technologies identified to have potential application to the USGS hydrologic-data program can be evaluated by the Hydro 21 committee. If the committee determines that a technology has significant potential, it will organize a focus workgroup to evaluate the technology and make specific recommendations for implementation. If the workgroup recommends further action, specific funding support will be identified and the technology will be field tested and finally incorporated into field operations. The committee is charged with producing a final report in FY98 and will make recommendations on identified technologies and the continuation of the Hydro 21 committee.