review.pdf
The Task Force divided its efforts into several areas of focus. Subgroups were formed to study (1) the "Mission" of the Cooperative Water Program, (2) the "Prioritization" of project selections and "Conduct of Work", and (3) the "Products" produced through the Cooperative Water Program.
The subgroup studying the Mission of the Cooperative Water Program began by investigating the Mission of the USGS and the WRD. The Mission of the USGS is "...to serve the Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life" (U.S. Geological Survey, 1999a).
The Federal government has a clear responsibility and interest in cooperating with State, Tribal, regional and local governments on water-related issues. The national interest is a combination of broad, regional to national concerns and the aggregate of common State, Tribal, and local interests. Examples of broad, regional to national concerns include regional, national, and global changes in climate and related changes in ground-water levels, stream flows, and water quality; predicting and analyzing the impacts of water-related hazards (for example, floods and droughts); and scientific understanding of how ground-water and surface-water systems function and how human activities impact these systems. These national concerns require the acquisition and maintenance of long-term data sets and the development of interpretive tools. Examples of aggregated common State, Tribal, and local interests are concerns about water availability for municipal, industrial, agricultural, and ecological needs; water quality for domestic and other uses; and impacts of floods, subsidence, and other hazards.
The document, Strategic Directions For The Water Resources Division, 1998-2008 (U.S. Geological Survey, 1999b) establishes the principles that will guide the WRD during 1998-2008. In addition to considering changes in the program, the Strategic Directions identified the mission, activities, and success factors of the WRD applicable at the time and for conditions that are likely to occur during the next decade. The mission of WRD, as defined in the draft document, is "to provide reliable, impartial, timely information that is needed to understand the Nation's water resources." The WRD mission Statement goes on to say "WRD actively promotes the use of this information by decision-makers to: (1) minimize the loss of life and property as a result of water-related natural hazards, such as floods, droughts, and land movement; (2) effectively manage ground-water and surface-water resources for domestic, agricultural, commercial, industrial, recreational, and ecological uses; (3) protect and enhance water resources for human health, aquatic health, and environmental quality; and (4) contribute to wise physical and economic development of the Nation's resources for the benefit of present and future generations."
The WRD mission objectives are supported by six primary activities and several success factors, which have been and will continue to be critical to the current and future success of WRD. The Strategic Directions document includes WRD's historical commitment to providing impartial, credible, and excellent science that is applied to issues relevant to water-resources management, environmental protection, protection from water-related hazards, and other public policies. In many ways, it does commit WRD to being all things to all people as it pursues its mission and mission objectives. The 10-year strategic direction plan basically states that WRD will continue its traditional activities and maintain its primary strengths while improving its success by establishing priorities, accomplishing the things necessary to best serve the Nation and to do them very well.
There are several attributes that make the Cooperative Water Program unique, and the Task Force believes recognition of these qualities should be included in a Cooperative Water Program Mission Statement.
The Strategic Directions for the Water Resources Division, 1998-2008 , States that the WRD has a responsibility to look into the future and to anticipate emerging needs in the water-resources field. This outlook does not differ significantly from the vision used at the inception of the Cooperative Water Program. What has changed, though, is the world within which the WRD operates. As opposed to 100 years ago, there are many more institutions and enterprises offering expertise within the water-resources environment. Because of this situation, it is vital that the WRD focus its efforts on truly meeting the letter and intent of its mission to address issues of national and regional significance.
The Cooperative Water Program will be expected to play a key role in the examination of these issues as partnerships are created with other Federal agencies, Water Resource Research Institutes, the academic community, Tribes, local governmental agencies, and members of the large private sector. The WRD cannot lose sight of the fact that one of the primary functions of the Cooperative Water Program is to gather the fundamental data that will be necessary to address these nine emerging issues and other water-related issues as they arise.
Traditionally, almost all work performed under the Cooperative Water Program was done by USGS scientists and technicians. This arrangement was designed to enhance quality control, provide national consistency in data collection and methods of analysis, and provide a stable core of experienced water scientists nationwide. This practice evolved in part from an era when the WRD employed most of the trained personnel in the world that were experienced in collecting water-resources data. Over the past 40 years, however, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of individuals receiving training in water-resources related science, the capabilities and use of sophisticated data-collection equipment, and the capabilities and use of hydrologic and hydrogeologic modeling.
Due to rising travel costs and the difficulty of maintaining small isolated work locations, it is incumbent on the WRD to investigate all means possible to provide increased efficiencies while controlling cost. This may occur through the increased use of remote sensing, use of personnel from outside the USGS, and/or developing quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) procedures that will allow acceptance of data from third-party sources.
Regardless of the methods employed by the WRD, it is vital that, above all else, the USGS maintain its reputation for providing correct, unbiased data. If this reputation were impaired, the WRD's ability to be a significant contributor in the water-resources field would be seriously impacted.
In general, the products of the program are well balanced with respect to achieving the needs of the Cooperators. Products made possible by the Cooperative Water Program are well regarded, credible, reliable, unbiased, and generally of excellent quality (for example, technical correctness, thoroughness, graphics, innovation, and use of new technologies, such as the Internet). However, the Task Force does offer suggestions (see "Findings and Recommendations" section) for improvement in several areas. The ability of the USGS to share information and products generated by the Cooperative Water Program, either free of charge (for example, models and data) or for nominal cost (certain publications), is a strong benefit of the program to Cooperators and other users.
Although program products are of high quality, achieving that level of excellence is inherently time consuming. Timely issuance of some products (for example, in adherence to deadlines in agreements), particularly interpretive project final reports, has been and remains a significant problem in the program. However, USGS staff has made significant strides to correct this important problem, in part, by revising the peer-review process and establishing review authority at the regional and District level.
Go to Finding and Recommendations Resulting from the Review
of the Cooperative Water Program
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