PUB00024

• Year: 1998
• Title: Water in the West: Challenge for the Next Century
• CWCB Section: Interstate & Federal
• Description: Report of the Western Water Policy Review Advisory Commission
• Publications - Doc Type: Tech Report

Executive Summary

Council on Environmental Quality concluded that,
"In most cases at present, agencies do not collect
long-term data on the actual environmental impacts
of their projects. Nor do agencies generally gather
data on the effectiveness of mitigation measures."
Therefore, in addition to supporting the increased
use of adaptive management, the Commission
recommends that agencies give more attention to
monitoring significant environmental resources,
programs, and mitigation efforts.

Water Research

The Congress and the Administration should
acknowledge the scarce nature of western water
resources and should recognize that water resources
research is a legitimate federal interest that should
be supported. To address these issues, the
Administration should propose and the Congress
should fund a tightly structured research program.
A substantial effort must be made to consult with
state and other water managers to ensure that
research is directed at high-priority problems and to
coordinate research across the federal agencies so
that limited research funds may be spent most
efficiently.

National Water Data

Two critical needs have emerged related to federal
water data collection programs: (I) improving
efficiency and coordination in data collection, and
(2) ensuring continuity and coverage in data
collection.

The longstanding programs of the USGS to collect
and publish basic streamflow information provide
very important information to a broad community of
water users and water management organizations.
For many reasons, including increasing data
collection costs and tighter state and federal
budgets, the number of gauging stations being

maintained has declined substantially. The
Commission received considerable comment about
the need to maintain and ensure the continuity in
this basic data collection program. Steps should be
taken to develop among the agencies and
cooperators a plan for this program that results in
greater financial and programmatic stability, and
this plan should be presented to the Congress for
additional funding if needed.

Similarly, the collection, analysis, and publication
by the USGS of water use data from the states has
served as one of the few sources of information
about regional or national trends in stream
diversions, water supply, and use. As our focus on
water management is increasingly on the river basin
or watershed, often spanning multiple states, it is
important to maintain this source of information for
both its broad and historic view.

The USGS and the EPA are engaged in several
water quality data collection programs, in concert
with the states. The largest of these is the National
Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA). To improve
the coordination and efficiency of these data
programs, we encourage the efforts of the
Interagency Taskforce for Monitoring, which
includes representatives from all levels of
government, to conclude the development and
implementation of a national strategy under the
National Water Quality Monitoring Council. We
strongly recommend that further steps be taken to
add a focus within NAQW A on critical biological
indicators, in addition to the physical and chemical
variables currently assessed.

While groundwater use is an area of water
management that is arguably the least sustainable in
many areas given current practices, data on this
resource is not systematically collected and
coordinated, either by the states or the USGS.
Groundwater management is an area often involving
complex interrelationships, and it creates an
increased need for data collection and analysis. A

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