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<br />033J15 <br /> <br />ICWP RECOMMENDATIONS ON ESTABLISHING GOALS FOR A NATIONAL STREAMGAGING <br />NETWORK <br /> <br />In directing the configuration of a national network of stream gages, ICWP recommends the <br />National Streamflow Information Program of USGS follow the following goals and associated <br />metrics in establishing the priority consideration of gages within the base federal network to be <br />supported by NSIP, <br /> <br />I, Provide stage and discharge data at each National Weather Service and Natural Resource <br />Conservation Service forecast or service location for the purposes of flow forecasting (flood, <br />normal and drought), <br />(Metric: Locate gage at NWS or NRCS service location), <br /> <br />2, Monitor representative discharge from each major sub-basin defined as a hydrologic <br />cataloging unit (HUC-8, as opposed to the original HUC-6 basin proposal) for assessing <br />status and trend offJow availability. <br />(Metric: Locate gage near terminus ofHUC 8, monitoring 90-110% ofHUC 8 drainage). <br /> <br />3, Provide river streamflow data for rivers governed by compacts between states, tribes or <br />nations or as dictated under Supreme Court decree (but not including waters crossing <br />jurisdictional boundaries with no legal agreements), <br />(Metric: Locate gage on RFl at location dictated by compact or decree), <br /> <br />4. Use the existing Hydrologic Benchmark station network to monitor streamflow and act <br />as sentinel watersheds to evaluate altered rainfall-runoff relations induced by changes in <br />climate or weather. <br />(Metric: Maintain gages at existing Benchmark sites and place up to 25 additional gages at <br />new sites which are unaltered extensively by land and water use with at least 2 stations in <br />each physiographic province), <br /> <br />A NEW CONCEPT: DEFINING A NATIONAL NETWORK THROUGH WATERSHED COVERAGE <br /> <br />The NSIP network addressing the above four goals provides the basic framework of spatial <br />coverage across the nation while addressing the primary issues of federal interest. As heard <br />throughout the 2001 workshops, there are numerous and varied reasons for maintaining streamflow <br />gaging stations within a state, These reasons are often linked to water management needs of the state <br />and local agencies overseeing water programs. Therefore, it would be presumptuous to establish <br />fixed goals on the portion of a national network supported through the USGS Co-Operative Program, <br />Furthermore, there are federal needs for streamflow information beyond those described above, <br />requiring ongoing support of streamgages by other Federal Agencies. . <br /> <br />It is critical that any national network comprises the federal interests in streamflow <br />information and meets the specific objectives of each intra-state network module of gages, While <br />the goals of these add-on networks is a matter left to the state cooperative agencies and USGS <br />District, the larger perspective of providing adequate spatial coverage of streamflow across the <br />nation should always be considered. In that context, ICWP recommends that a national network <br />