Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2007ID93B

Idaho Water Resources Information and Needs Assessment: Extended Analysis and Enhanced Information Transfer

Institute: Idaho
Year Established: 2007 Start Date: 2007-03-01 End Date: 2008-02-29
Total Federal Funds: $15,517 Total Non-Federal Funds: $31,805

Principal Investigators: Charles Harris, Jan Boll

Project Summary: The proposed research would extend analysis and enhance information transfer for the results of a project conducted as part of a project initially funded by the Inland Northwest Research Alliance (INRA). The original INRA proposal explained the need to conduct a detailed but regional assessment of the information and research needs of water resource stakeholders related to increasing competition for scarce water supplies; the study, which was funded and is scheduled to end in May 2007, is assessing priorities for research on water resources in a five-state area, including AK, UT, WA, and MT as well as Idaho. Given the regional focus of this project, data generated are being compiled and analyzed primarily at a regional level. Therefore, the purpose of this proposal is to secure funding to analyze the results of the data generated in the State of Idaho at a more detailed, fine-grained level, and to disseminate the results of that analysis to appropriate publics and stakeholders across that state. The extended analysis will focus on determining the commonalities identified by the stakeholders on the following topics: (1) the challenges of water resource management faced by the stakeholders, (2) the information and research needs to address those challenges, (3) the information and research needs for drought management, and (4) university conducted water resources research priorities. A qualitative methodology will be employed to develop themes for each of these topics and analyze them with a differential analysis. Thematic coding will be the primary method, with peer debriefing and multiple coders employed for quality assurance. Analyses will be conducted on the data to identify commonalities at multi-levels including: state-level, ecoregion-level, agency-level, tribal-level, nongovernmental organization-level, and private industry-level. The enhanced information transfer will focus on disseminating a formal report of the extended analysis to the University of Idahos Waters of the West Program and the federal agencies, state agencies, local governments, tribal governments, nongovernmental organizations, and private industries who participated in the study. Additionally, the enhanced information transfer will be incorporated as a key element of Waters of the West Programs development of an interactive media capability for disseminating water resources information throughout the state. Specifically, the objectives of this project include: (1) to analyze information generated through interviews with diverse water resource stakeholders throughout the State of Idaho, focusing on the research and information needs to address state-wide issues, such as drought and a secured water supply of high quality, in face of population growth and patterns of change in water availability, demand and use; and (2) to disseminate the results of the extended analysis to water resource stakeholders throughout the state, and to make the information publicly accessible.