# Presentation: 752255

## Streamgaging Task ForceFinal Report

- Advisory Committee on Water Information
- Herndon, Virginia
- April 3, 2002

## Advisory Committee on Water InformationStreamgaging Task Force

- Charge:  Determine the streamflow information needs of the Nation, identify the optimal streamgaging network to meet the needs, and prepare recommendations for funding responsibilities.

## Streamgaging Task Force Members

- Interstate Council on Water Policy
- U. S. Geological Survey
- American Association of State Geologists
- American Society of Civil Engineers
- American Water Resources Association
- Association of State Floodplain Managers
- Association of Western State Engineers
- Ground Water Protection Council

## Streamgaging Task Force Members

- Tennessee Valley Authority
- Western States Water Council
- Bureau of Reclamation
- National Weather Service
- Natural Resources Conservation Service
- U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
- U. S. Army Corps of Engineers

## Streamgaging Task ForcePlan

- Identify goals of a national network
- Compile information on all available streamgaging stations
- Evaluate achievement of National goals using the USGS network model
- Identify additional stations needed to achieve each goal
- Estimate cost of new or upgraded stations
- Propose a long-term funding strategy
- Submit recommendations to the ACWI

## Streamgaging Task ForceConcurrent Activities

- USGS developed their own plan for a National Streamflow Information Program (NSIP).
- The Interstate Council on Water Policy was commissioned to conduct a series of four workshops on NSIP and considerations for a national streamgaging network.

## Streamgaging Task ForceNational Network Goals

- NWS and _NRCS_ forecast points
- Key river basins
- River basin compacts and decrees and major river crossings of state, _tribal_, and international boundaries
- Representative streams and rivers for flow estimation and long-term trends
- National water-quality monitoring network streams
- NFIP communities
- Rivers with impaired water quality

## Streamgaging Task ForceNational Network Goals

- Rivers with NPDES permits exceeding 10 MGD
- Rivers with significant canoeing, kayaking and rafting
- Rivers draining Federal lands
- Major rivers with diversions
- Inflow and outflow of major reservoirs
- Rivers supporting migratory fish populations
- Rivers used for commercial navigation

##  Network Model

- Conterminous U.S.
- 60,000 streams (total 1M kilometers)
- 329 river basins and 2,200 watersheds
- NWS and NRCS sites
- 21,600 NFIP communities
- 303(d) file of impaired reaches
- 60,000 NPDES permits
- Reservoir inventory
- Whitewater inventory
- Water use by county and HUC
- 20,000 streamflow stations
- 7,000 USGS active
- 1,800 other agency stations
- 440 new NSIP stations

## Goal 7:  Provide river discharge data for all watersheds that have impaired water quality

- Metric:
- Operate a station on each RF1 river reach with impaired water
- Add additional stations to the same river only when the drainage area increases by 20 percent

## Stream Reaches with Impaired Water Quality

**Stream Reaches with Impaired Water Quality**

- Active Site - 1616

- Inactive Site - 1221

- Other Agency Site - 207

- Proposed NSIP Site - 76

- Total 9123 Gages Required, of which 3120 Existing

- _Gages_

- New Site - 6003

## Summary of Requirements

- NWS and NRCS forecasting			     3,373
- Major river basins			  	        384
- Compacts and borders			   	        538
- Flow estimation and trends		   	        849
- Water-quality monitoring			   	        209
- NFIP communities				     7,297
- Impaired water quality				     9,123
- NPDES permits					     2,116
- River safety					     4,350
- Federal lands				     	          89
- Surface-water diversions			     	          27
- Reservoirs					     1,526
- Migratory fish habitat			   	        296
- Commercial navigation			   	        208
- 	Total individual requirements	             	   	   30,631
- 	Actual number of stations required     	    	   18,330

## Number of Goals Met By Proposed Network Stations

-               (30,631 requirements; 18,330 stations)

- 1 Goal – 12,210 Sites

- 2 Goals – 4,170 Sites

- 3-4 Goals – 1,800 Sites

- 5-9 Goals – 149 Sites

## Streamgaging Task ForceNetwork Recommendations

- Recommendation 1. -- USGS should adopt the following goals for NSIP:
- A.	Support NWS and NRCS flow forecasting
- B.	Monitor streamflow of hydrologic cataloguing units (8-digit HUCs)
- C.	Support Compacts, Supreme Court decrees, and international border crossings
- D.	Monitor long-term trends in streamflow with an expanded Hydrologic Benchmark Network

## Streamgaging Task ForceNetwork Recommendations

- Recommendation 2. – Use the COOP program and the watershed approach for meeting other streamflow information needs
- Establish new stations in HUC 10 watersheds based on local, state, and national needs
- 25 percent coverage of each HUC 8 watershed

## Streamgaging Task ForceNetwork Recommendations

- Recommendation 3. -- Stations providing flood data about communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program should have a high priority within the USGS COOP program.
- USGS and Federal Emergency Management Agency work with communities to establish a crest-stage gage network

## Proposed NSIP Streamgaging Network

| GOAL | ACTIVE  | OTHER AGENCY | INACTIVE | NEW | TOTAL |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NWS AND NRCS | 2,070 | 262 | 726 | 434 | 3,492 |
| HUC 8 | 1,097 | 167 | 379 | 926 | 2,569 |
| Compacts | 241 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 256 |
| Hydrologic
Benchmark | 120 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 131 |
| Sum of Requirements | 3,528 | 442 | 1,108 | 1,370 | 6,448 |
| Stations needed | 2,778 | 304 | 830 | 1,285 | 5,197 |

##     NWS and NRCS Forecast Sites

-     **NWS and NRCS Forecast Sites**

- _NWS    NRCS Gages_

- Active

- Inactive

- Other Agency

- Proposed NSIP

-   234

-   153

-   36

-   2

-   2004

-   583

-   235

-   305

- Total 519 NRCS Gages

- Total 3127 NWS Gages

- New Site

-   94

- 3373 Total Gages Required, 273 Gages Both NWS and NRCS

## NWS Forecast Sites in Alaska 

- NWS Forecast Sites in Alaska

- 41- Active NSIP

- 27- Inactive NSIP

- 30 – New NSIP

- 98 Total Stations

## Hydrologic Cataloguing Units

- 1056 - Active

-   167 - Other Agency

-   340 - Inactive

-     38 - Proposed NSIP Station

- 786 out of 2,120 HUC8 areas without a streamgaging station that qualifies

- 1601 Stations shown, 816 New not shown
- Total 2417 Stations required to fully meet goal

## Hydrologic Cataloguing Units in Alaska

- 81 HUC8s w/ Gage

- 57 HUC8s wo/ Gage

- 7 – Active non-NSIP

- 22- Inactive non-NSIP

- 57 – New non-NSIP (not shown)

- 20- Active NSIP

- 17- Inactive NSIP

- 15 – New NSIP

- 52 Total  NSIP Stations

- 138 Total   Stations

- Total 138 HUC8’s

## Compact and International Border Stations

- Active - 241

- Other  - 8

- Streamgages

- Inactive - 3

- New - 4

- Total - 256

## Physiographic Sections and Existing Benchmark Stations

- Benchmark stations

- Total Active - 2690

- Total Other Agency - 304

- Total Inactive - 774

- Total New – 449, (817 not shown)

- Total 75 Sections, Total 59 Benchmark stations.
- 38 Sections w/ Benchmarks, 37 Sections w/ active stations

- (Total 96 Streamgages in lower 48 Required)

## Proposed Hydrologic Benchmark Stations

- 10- Active

-  5- Inactive

-  5 - New

## Proposed NSIP Network for Hawaii

- Proposed NSIP Network for Puerto Rico

- 13- Active NSIP

- 1- Inactive NSIP

- 3 – New NSIP

- 23- Active NSIP Stations

- (St. Thomas, St. Johns
-            St. Croix)

- 17 Total NSIP Stations

## Streamgaging Task ForceFunding and Related Strategies

- Recommendation 4. – The USGS should implement the network components of NSIP in five years
- Recommendation 5. -- USGS and its’ cooperators should continue to seek increases in COOP.
- Restore historic 50:50 funding

## Streamgaging Task ForceFunding and Related Strategies

- Recommendation 6. -- Network components of NSIP should be 	implemented by using funding increases to support  new or reactivated stations and infrastructure costs.
- Recommendation 7. -- Each USGS District, in collaboration with its’ cooperators, should develop a streamgaging strategy, including a priority system for adding new stations.

## Streamgaging Task ForceFunding and Related Strategies

- Recommendation 8. – USGS should use NSIP infrastructure funds to verify and upgrade, if necessary, the quality and distribution of data from stations operated by other agencies.
- Recommendation 9. -- USGS should continue cooperation with other Federal agencies.
- Recommendation 10. – A similar network evaluation should be conducted in another 10 years.