This report responds to the following directive from Congress to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as part of the report on the Fiscal Year 2002 Appropriations for Interior and Related Agencies (House Committee on Appropriations).
“The Committee is concerned about the future of water availability for the Nation. Water is vital to the needs of growing communities, agriculture, energy production, and critical ecosystems. Unfortunately, a nationwide assessment of water availability for the United States does not exist, or, at best, is several decades old. The Committee directs that by January 31, 2002, the Survey prepare a report describing the scope and magnitude of the efforts needed to provide periodic assessments of the status and trends in the availability and use of freshwater resources.”
Water-resources information useful for regional and national assessments of freshwater availability and use requires a continuing process of coordination and collaboration with representatives of the water-users community. During preparation of this report, the USGS solicited input from many individuals and organizations involved in issues of water availability and use (Appendix A). We asked them what types of decisions and policy issues need improved water facts today and in the future, what variables or indicators would be useful, what spatial and temporal scales would be appropriate, how to build on existing efforts, and where to expand collaborative opportunities. In response to our request, we heard from nearly 100 water users, managers, researchers, and advocates through mail and e-mail, phone conversations, and face-to-face meetings.
|
In this new century, the United States will
be challenged to provide sufficient quantities of high-quality water to
its growing population. Water is a limiting resource for human well-being
and social development, and projections of population growth as well as
changing social values suggest that demands for this resource will increase
significantly. These projections have fueled concerns among the public
and water resources professionals alike about the adequacy of future water
supplies, the sustainability and restoration of aquatic ecosystems, and
the viability of our current water resource research programs and our
institutional and physical water resource infrastructures.
National Research Council, 2001, |
There were several clear messages from those with whom we met or corresponded. First, there was consensus that a better set of facts is needed to inform decisions related to water availability. Many individuals emphasized the potential for improved methodologies and standards for consistency of nationwide data, the importance of leaving water in the stream (instream flow) as a component of water use, and the connections between water quantity and water quality. National organizations, in particular, noted the need for consistent indicators of water availability across the Nation. Individuals representing State and local governments reminded us that many States have done extensive planning to quantify water availability now and in the future, and that the availability of water is largely a local issue. Concerns also were expressed that any efforts proposed should not detract from USGS basic data collection nor from USGS partnerships with States and others on local assessments of water availability and use.
There have been several efforts over the past few decades to compile national assessments of water availability. Perhaps the most notable originated from the Water Resources Planning Act of 1965 (Public Law 89–80) that created and empowered the U.S. Water Resources Council to oversee an ongoing study of the Nation’s water resources. A rudimentary national assessment was published by the Council in 1968 (U.S. Water Resources Council, 1968), followed by a comprehensive Second National Water Assessment in 1978 (U.S. Water Resources Council, 1978). It has been argued that the primary value of these national assessments was their contribution to the general debate over the definition of national water problems and the direction for national water policy (Osborn and Shabman, 1988).
The U.S. Water Resources Council ceased operations in the early 1980’s. In the years that followed, the USGS issued a series of reports under the general title of “National Water Summary” that focused on particular aspects of water resources and provided State-by-State summaries. The first National Water Summary, published in 1984 and referencing 1980 as a base year, documented water-resources issues in each of the 50 States and principal Territories (U.S. Geological Survey, 1984). More recently, as part of the water-sector contributions to the National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change, efforts were made to update components of the Second National Water Assessment to reflect water-availability conditions for the year 1995 (Frederick and Schwarz, 1999).
Next: National Assessment of Water Availability and Use
| AccessibilityFOIAPrivacyPolicies and Notices | |
| |
|