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<br />Position No. 256
<br />(See alsCi No. 235)
<br />
<br />POSITION
<br />of the
<br />WESTERN STATES WATER COUNCIL
<br />regarding
<br />FEDERAL WATER AND CLIMATE DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS PROGRAMS
<br />Adopted as Revised
<br />Las Vegas
<br />April 2, 2004
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, the Western States Water Council is a policy advisory body representing eighteen states,
<br />and has long been involved in western water conservation, development, protection~ and management issues,
<br />and the member states and political subdivisions have long been partners in cooperative federal water and
<br />climate data collection and analysis programs; and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, in the West, water is a critical, vital resource (much of which originates from mountain
<br />snows) and sound decision making demands accurate and timely data on precipitation, temperature, soil
<br />moisture, snow depth, snow water content, stream flow, and similar information; and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, the demands for water and related climate data continue to increase along with our
<br />population and this information is used by federal, state, tribal, alnd local government agencies, as well as
<br />private entities and individuals, to forecast flooding and drought and to project future water supplies for
<br />agricultural, municipal, and industrial uses; hydropower production, recreation, and environmental purposes,
<br />such as for fish and wildlife management and for endangered sp1ecies needs; and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, without timely and accurate information, human life, health, welfare, property, and
<br />environmental and natural resources are at considerably greater Irisk of loss; and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, critical and vital information is gathered and disseminated through the Snow Survey and
<br />Water Supply Forecasting Program, administered by the National Water and Climate Center (NWCC) in
<br />Portland, Oregon, and funded through USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), while
<br />equally essential data on stream flow conditions are gathered and disseminated through the U.S. Geological
<br />Survey's Cooperative Stream Gaging Program and National Str~:am Flow Information Program, which are
<br />funded through the Department of Interior; and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, state-of-the-art technology has been developed to provide real or near real-time data with
<br />the potential to vastly improve the water-related information available to decisionmakers in natural resources
<br />and emergency management, and thus better protect the public safety, welfare and the environment; and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, over a number of years, federal appropriations have not kept up with increasing program
<br />costs and/or matching non-federal contributions, and this erosion in funding has led or would have led to the
<br />discontinuance, disrepair, or obsolescence of a significant numbl~r of manual snow courses, automated
<br />SNOTEL (SNOwTELemetry) sites, stream flow forecasting capabilities, and stream gages; and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, beginning in FY200l, an increase in the federal appropriation, in the amount of
<br />approximately $2.5 million, was made for the Snow Surv~:y and Water Supply Forecasting Program to
<br />prevent the discontinuance, disrepair, or obsolescence of a significant number of manual snow courses,
<br />automated SNOTEL sites, and stream flow forecasting capabilities; and
<br />
<br />WHEREAS, the USDA has now determined to implement accounting changes that will essentially
<br />erase the benefits of the added federal appropriations that began in FY2001, which changes will essentially
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