May
25
NRC Reports: 1) USGS Water Leadership Role; 2) Improving Flood Map Accuracy
May 25, 2009 | Posted by Michael "Aquadoc" Campana
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Two National Research Council committees have just produced publications of interest to AWRA blog readers:
1) Toward a Sustainable and Secure Water Future: a Leadership Role for the USGS;
2) Mapping the Zone: Improving Flood Map Accuracy.
The USGS report can be downloaded free of charge or purchased as a paper copy.
The map report can be read free online but you must pay to download the entire report or individual chapters, or obtain a paper copy.
You can freely download the executive summary of each report.
I certainly support a more significant role for the USGS’s Water Resources Division (WRD). They have outstanding hydrologic and other personnel (although they will be losing a bunch of their best people to retirements); do not have regulatory functions so they are generally perceived as having no axe to grind; and have an excellent, well-deserved research reputation.
The retirement issue is a serious one, however, and is not limited to the USGS, but many agencies.
Here are some statements from the report’s Executive Summary:
The USGS and WRD leadership should refocus their vision to define the national water priorities that they will address and develop a management approach to integrate the WRD programs to meet these needs and lead the nation in water science.
To meet the nation’s water science needs, the WRD’s National Research Program should be aligned around its refocused vision of national program priorities.
The WRD’s Cooperative Water Program needs to be better integrated with the WRD’s focused vision of regional and national water program priorities.
The USGS WRD should involve all research grade personnel in staffing teams to address regional and national research priorities, regardless of location, to increase the agency’s flexibility.
To ensure a secure water future for the nation, sufficient funding should be provided for the USGS to perform its function as a major science agency: to ensure high quality data collection, interpretive programs, and development of essential forecasting and predictive tools to support effective management of the nation’s critical water resources.
I concur with each of the above. And Ken Salazar was right when he said:
“…that hidden jewel within the Department.” – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, referring to the USGS
Remember Memorial Day!
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