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ABSTRACT The United States SECURE Water Act states that a study of water use is critical for assessing impacts on water and ecological resources and forecasting whether or not available surface and groundwater supplies will meet future needs. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) plays a key role in the SECURE Water Act by providing nationally consistent information on water quantity, quality, and use. Water‐use data maintained by States and Territories are critical for the USGS water‐use estimation and modeling techniques that underlie these efforts. However, water‐use data availability has not been systematically assessed. This study addresses this gap through a survey of USGS Water Science Centers (WSCs). The results indicate that water‐use information varies in its content and level of detail across the United States. Spatially discrete and comprehensive information about water use, such as site‐specific consumptive use, withdrawals, diversions, return flows, and interbasin transfers, is not widely available to and/or shared between State and Territory water‐resource agencies and USGS WSCs. This article presents the survey results and discusses reported barriers to water‐use data availability and sharing, as well as potential implications of limited water‐use information. This study advances understanding of water‐use data availability and sharing and contributes to broader research on US water data governance.
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Interbasin water transfers in the United States and Canada
Abstract Interbasin water transfers (IBTs) can have a significant impact on the environment, water availability, and economies within the basins importing and exporting water, as well as basins downstream of these water transfers. The lack of comprehensive data identifying and describing IBTs inhibits understanding of the role IBTs play in supplying water for society, as well as their collective hydrologic impact. We develop three connected datasets inventorying IBTs in the United States and Canada, including their features, geospatial details, and water transfer volumes. We surveyed the academic and gray literature, as well as local, state, and federal water agencies, to collect, process, and verify IBTs in Canada and the United States. Our comprehensive IBT datasets represent all known transfers of untreated water that cross subregion (US) or subdrainage area (CA) boundaries, characterizing a total of 641 IBT projects. The infrastructure-level data made available by these data products can be used to close water budgets, connect water supplies to water use, and better represent human impacts within hydrologic and ecosystem models.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2144169
- PAR ID:
- 10391130
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Scientific Data
- Volume:
- 10
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2052-4463
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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