# Presentation: 236752

## Streamgaging Task ForceSummary Report

- Advisory Committee on Water Information
- Herndon, Virginia
- September 10, 2003

## Advisory Committee on Water InformationStreamgaging Task Force 

- Commissioned by the ACWI in 1998.
- 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Approach

- Identified goals of a national network
- Compiled information on all available streamgaging stations
- Evaluated the achievement of National goals using the USGS network model
- Identified additional stations needed to achieve each goal
- Recommended a core streamgaging network
- Proposed funding strategies

## 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Final Report

- Submitted to ACWI on April 3, 2002
- Chairman proposed a 30-day comment period followed by a telephone conference call
- Comments were received from League of Women Voters, USDA, and Universities Council on Water Resources
- USGS provided comments in February 2003 and suggested several changes to the recommendations

## Streamgaging Task ForceFinal Report Comments

- League of Women Voters
- Need adequate data for flood protection
- Determine which agency Congress is most likely to fund for the national streamgaging network
- Protect critical environmental areas
- USDA-NRCS
- Real-time data delivery

## Streamgaging Task ForceFinal Report Comments

- Universities Council on Water Resources
- Cost of gages should be compared with benefits
- TMDL goal is high priority; difficult to quantify
- Real-time data delivery

## Streamgaging Task ForceFinal Report Comments

- USGS
- All components of NSIP are equally important
- Network expenditures should not be restricted to new stations and infrastructure costs when existing network is not stable
- Funding core network with multiple agencies is a flawed approach

## Streamgaging Task ForceFinal Report Follow-up

- League of Women Voters, USDA, and UCOWR comments addressed by Chairs
- USGS comments were sent to Task Force members
- Responses received from AASG, ASFPM, and ICWP
- Clarifying statements added to final report

## 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
- [Larger network of HUC8 gages will support flood protection, water quality and quantity management and other goals.]

## 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 |

## 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
- [Data for critical environmental areas will be provided through the COOP program.]

## 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

## Streamgaging Task ForceFunding and Related Strategies

- Recommendation 4. – The USGS should implement the network components of NSIP in five years.  [The report was revised to reflect the Task Force’s support for full funding of NSIP, however, the network should be emphasized in the initial years of the program.]
- 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. [Report was revised to support the use of NSIP funds for existing stations when cooperator funds are lost and the stability of the network is affected.]

## Streamgaging Task ForceFunding and Related Strategies

- Recommendation 7. -- Each USGS District, in collaboration with its’ cooperators, should develop a streamgaging strategy, including a priority system for adding new stations.
- 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. [This includes real-time data delivery.]

## Streamgaging Task ForceFunding and Related Strategies

- Recommendation 9. -- USGS should continue cooperation with other Federal agencies. [This recommendation was intended for both the USGS and cooperating Federal agencies.  USGS should fund the NSIP network; other Federal agencies should continue to support other components of the national streamgaging network]
- Recommendation 10. – A similar network evaluation should be conducted in another 10 years.

## Streamgaging Task ForceFinal Report

- Task Force requests that the ACWI endorse the final report and take action on the appropriate recommendations.