Toward a Sustainable and Secure Water Future: A Leadership Role for the U.S. Geological Survey [105 page, 1.1MB PDF, free registration required].
From the Summary:
Water is our most fundamental natural resource, a resource that is limited. Challenges to our nation’s water resources continue to grow, driven by population growth, ecological needs, climate change, and other pressures. The nation needs more and improved water science and information to meet these challenges. In this report we review the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) Water Resource Discipline (WRD), one of the nation’s foremost water science organizations. This report provides constructive advice to help the WRD meet the nation’s water needs over the coming decades. Our report is primarily directed to the leadership of the USGS WRD. However, many findings and recommendations also target the USGS leadership and the Department of Interior (DOI), because their support is necessary for the WRD to respond to the water needs of the nation.
The USGS, established in 1879, has historically been regarded as a primary source for scientific data to describe and understand Earth systems and provide assessments to facilitate the management of the nation’s resources. The WRD, one of four scientific disciplines within the USGS, fills this mission by assessing the quality and quantity of the nation’s surface water and groundwater. Since its conception, the WRD mission has remained “to provide reliable, impartial, timely information needed to understand the nation’s water resources”. With no regulatory or management responsibilities, the WRD is recognized as a source of unbiased hydrologic data and scientific information.
The Committee on Water Resources Activities at the U.S. Geological Survey, a committee of the Water Science and Technology Board of the National Research Council (NRC), was asked to carry out a review of the USGS WRD programs. The statement of task (Box 1-1) presents a bipartite charge. The first is a performance review of the WRD, on topics ranging from leadership to cost-effectiveness. The second and more important undertaking was to look to the future, so we provide recommendations that will aid the USGS in being dynamically responsive to society’s pressing water resource needs. This Summary includes the major findings and recommendations of the committee. Additional conclusions and recommendations can be found in the individual chapters.
