John E. Costa Robert M. Hirsch 2004 <p>Stream flow information is essential for many important uses across a broad range of scales, including global water balances, engineering design, flood forecasting, reservoir operations, navigation, water supply, recreation, and environmental management. Growing populations and competing priorities for water, including preservation and restoration of aquatic habitat, are spurring demand for more accurate, timely, and accessible water data.To be most useful, stream flow information must be collected in a standardized manner, with a known accuracy, and for a long and continuous time period.</p> application/pdf 10.1029/2004EO200002 en American Geophysical Union U.S. stream flow measurement and data dissemination improve article