A New Evaluation of the USGS Streamgaging Network--A Report to Congress

FUTURE DIRECTIONS--NATIONAL STREAMFLOW INFORMATION PROGRAM

The network evaluation outlined in this report and the NSIP planning process will continue to involve the Streamgaging Task Force of the Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI). The ACWI is chartered under Office of Management and Budget Memorandum 92-01 following the procedures of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Committee members include representatives of Federal, State, and local agencies, universities, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations. We also will be sharing this report widely with interested parties in order to gain their reactions to the principles that we will be applying to the program's design.

The USGS planning team will integrate the feedback from the Streamgaging Task Force and other stakeholders as they design NSIP. We expect to have the key elements of the NSIP defined by March 1999. The development of NSIP plans aligns with the Department of the Interior's Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) goal to "Provide science for a changing world." It further supports both GPRA goals of the USGS: 1) "Ensure the continued transfer of data, risk assessments, and disaster scenarios needed by our customers before, during, and after natural disasters;" and 2) "Ensure the continued availability of long-term environmental and natural resource information and systematic analysis and investigations needed by our customers." The metrics used in the network analysis are ideal for the ongoing tracking of these GPRA goals.