A New Evaluation of
the USGS Streamgaging Network--A Report to Congress
INTRODUCTION
Since 1889, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has operated a streamgaging
network to collect information about the Nation's water resources. It is a
multipurpose network funded by the USGS and many other Federal, State and
local agencies. Individual streamgaging stations are supported for
specific purposes such as water allocation, reservoir operations, or
regulating permit requirements, but the data are used by others for many
purposes. Collectively, the USGS streamgaging network produces valuable
data that are used for current forecasting and operational decisions as
well as long-term resource planning, infrastructure design, and flood
hazard mitigation. The guiding principles of the network are:
- Streamgaging stations are funded by the USGS and many agencies to achieve
the Federal mission goals of the USGS and the individual goals of the
funding agencies.
- Data are freely available to the public and all partners.
- USGS operates the network on behalf of all partners, which achieves
economies because it eliminates the need for multiple infrastructures for
testing equipment, providing training to staff, developing and maintaining
the communications and data-base systems, and conducting quality assurance.
- USGS brings the capability of its national staff to bear on challenging
problems such as responding to catastrophic floods or finding solutions to
unique streamgaging conditions.
This report has been prepared in response to a request from the U.S. House
of Representatives Subcommittee on Interior Appropriations in its report to
accompany H.R. 4193.
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Comments and questions are welcome!
Last updated:Monday, 05-Dec-2016 12:53:35 EST
URL: https://water.usgs.gov/streamgaging/intro.html
