Trinity-San Jacinto River Basin selected as 5th Integrated Water Science Basin
Studies in this Texas basin will focus on the impacts of climate change and sea level variability in urban envirnoments
Willamette River Basin selected as 4th Integrated Water Science Basin
Studies in this Pacific Northwest basin will advance the science used to manage water for the diverse needs of major cities, fertile agriculture, and ecologically important species
The U.S. Geological Survey is integrating its water science programs to better address the Nation’s greatest water resource challenges. At the heart of this effort are plans to intensively study at least 10 Integrated Water Science (IWS) basins — medium-sized watersheds (10,000-20,000 square miles) and underlying aquifers — over the next decade. The IWS basins will represent a wide range of environmental, hydrologic, and landscape settings and human stressors of water resources to improve understanding of water availability across the Nation.
State-of-the-art water-availability models—supported by high-density innovative monitoring and cutting-edge research—will be developed and applied in each IWS basin in ways that are extensible to larger regions represented by the basins and ultimately to the entire Nation. Water availability here is defined as the spatial and temporal distribution of water quantity and quality in both surface and groundwater, as related to human and ecosystem needs and as affected by human and natural influences. Together, various USGS water science programs, including the Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS), Integrated Water Availability Assessments (IWAAs), and Integrated Water Prediction programs, are providing the observations, understanding, predictions, and information delivery necessary for sound decision-making related to emergency response, flood forecasting, reservoir management, drinking water delivery, permit compliance, water-quality improvement, recreational safety and more.
A regional framework was developed and is being used to ensure that basins selected from different hydrologic regions collectively represent the range in major drivers of the hydrologic cycle across the contiguous United States. A quantitative ranking scheme, primarily based on human stressors of water resources, is being used to ensure that the selected basins also address important water-resource challenges (Van Metre et. al., 2020). IWS basin activities are underway in the Delaware River Basin, where the impact of the drought of record under current water supply and demand restrictions is being studied, the Upper Colorado River Basin, where cold-region processes of snow, ice and frozen soils are being studied, and the Illinois River Basin, where the relation between an overabundance of nutrients (primarily nitrogen and phosphorus), associated harmful algal blooms (HABs), and water availability are being studied. Planning has begun for activities in the Willamette River Basin, where there is a need to balance water demands for human and ecological sustainability. Beginning in 2023, planning will begin for IWS basin activities in the Trinity-San Jacinto River Basin to focus on evaluating the impacts of large urban environmental settings and high-impact weather events on water availability and societal welfare.
Key questions the USGS can address with Integrated Water Science
- What is the quality and quantity of atmospheric, surface, and subsurface water, and how do these vary spatially and temporally?
- How do human activities affect water quantity and quality?
- How can water accounting be done more effectively and comprehensively to provide data on water availability and use?
- How does changing climate affect water quality, quantity, and reliability, as well as water-related hazards and extreme events?
- How can long-term water-related risk management be improved?
Below are other science projects associated with Integrated Water Science Basins.
Regional Water Availability Assessment: Upper Colorado River Basin
Regional Water Availability Assessment: Delaware River Basin
Integrated Water Availability Assessments
Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS)
Integrated Water Prediction (IWP)
Next Generation Water Observing System: Illinois River Basin
Next Generation Water Observing System: Upper Colorado River Basin
Next Generation Water Observing System: Delaware River Basin
The U.S. Geological Survey is integrating its water science programs to better address the Nation’s greatest water resource challenges. At the heart of this effort are plans to intensively study at least 10 Integrated Water Science (IWS) basins — medium-sized watersheds (10,000-20,000 square miles) and underlying aquifers — over the next decade. The IWS basins will represent a wide range of environmental, hydrologic, and landscape settings and human stressors of water resources to improve understanding of water availability across the Nation.
State-of-the-art water-availability models—supported by high-density innovative monitoring and cutting-edge research—will be developed and applied in each IWS basin in ways that are extensible to larger regions represented by the basins and ultimately to the entire Nation. Water availability here is defined as the spatial and temporal distribution of water quantity and quality in both surface and groundwater, as related to human and ecosystem needs and as affected by human and natural influences. Together, various USGS water science programs, including the Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS), Integrated Water Availability Assessments (IWAAs), and Integrated Water Prediction programs, are providing the observations, understanding, predictions, and information delivery necessary for sound decision-making related to emergency response, flood forecasting, reservoir management, drinking water delivery, permit compliance, water-quality improvement, recreational safety and more.
A regional framework was developed and is being used to ensure that basins selected from different hydrologic regions collectively represent the range in major drivers of the hydrologic cycle across the contiguous United States. A quantitative ranking scheme, primarily based on human stressors of water resources, is being used to ensure that the selected basins also address important water-resource challenges (Van Metre et. al., 2020). IWS basin activities are underway in the Delaware River Basin, where the impact of the drought of record under current water supply and demand restrictions is being studied, the Upper Colorado River Basin, where cold-region processes of snow, ice and frozen soils are being studied, and the Illinois River Basin, where the relation between an overabundance of nutrients (primarily nitrogen and phosphorus), associated harmful algal blooms (HABs), and water availability are being studied. Planning has begun for activities in the Willamette River Basin, where there is a need to balance water demands for human and ecological sustainability. Beginning in 2023, planning will begin for IWS basin activities in the Trinity-San Jacinto River Basin to focus on evaluating the impacts of large urban environmental settings and high-impact weather events on water availability and societal welfare.
Key questions the USGS can address with Integrated Water Science
- What is the quality and quantity of atmospheric, surface, and subsurface water, and how do these vary spatially and temporally?
- How do human activities affect water quantity and quality?
- How can water accounting be done more effectively and comprehensively to provide data on water availability and use?
- How does changing climate affect water quality, quantity, and reliability, as well as water-related hazards and extreme events?
- How can long-term water-related risk management be improved?
Below are other science projects associated with Integrated Water Science Basins.