Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable

http://water.usgs.gov/wicp/acwi/swrr/

Tim Smith, Coordinator

Bob Goldstein, Co-Chair

SWRR Activities

• Development of principles, criteria and indicators to support decision-making

• Identification of opportunities for

collaboration on research needs

• Strategies to expand SWRR participation to states, non-profits, academia and corporations

SWRR’s Framework

Tim

e

General Framework for Driving Forces and Underlying Processes

Ecosystems Society

Social &EconomicDrivers:

EconomicDevelopment

Energy Production and Use

Land Use

PopulationGrowth

Transportation

UnderlyingNatural

Processes:

Disturbance & Response

EnergyCycling

Hydrologic Cycle & Flow

Regime

Materials Cycling

The Biophysical Environment

Ecosystem

Goods &

Services

HumanAlterations &

Discharges

General Framework for Driving Forces

and Underlying Processes

Sample Indicator

Gross Water Availability

SWRR’s Outreach

• About 300 active participants from Federal State and Local Government, Corporations, Non profits and Academia

• About 550 people on distribution list• Meetings held in California, Minnesota,

Michigan, Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia• Various publications and conference

presentations

SWRR Future Work

• Complete, revise and refine indicators for tracking the sustainability of water resources

– including indicators scalable to national, state and local levels

• Assist agencies– by describing the need for programs to collect the

information necessary for generating indicators

• Increase representation– from state & regional water management programs

SWRR’s Future Work• Expand relationships with the scientific

community – to draw on the best ideas in water disciplines– to encourage research into sustainability as it

relates to water resources

• Consult with other programs on water-related indicators, including

– National Research Council’s Key National Indicator Initiative

– Council on Environmental Quality– Heinz Foundation– Others

• Plan a National Forum on Sustainable Water Resources

SWRR’s Future Work• Develop a training workshop

• Expand contacts in industrial community

• Continue meetings to inform & involve those in different regions of the nation

• Conduct Hill briefings, coordinate with EESI

Represented Sectors

• Power generation

• Agriculture and forestry

• Urban issues

• Manufacturing/industry

• Ecological protection

• Ethics, law and policy

Consensus Needs

• Improved understanding of critical water resource processes and their impact on sustainability

• Decision support models/tools

• Better inventory of critical data

• New monitoring technologies• Quantify “value” of water• New policy and law to

manage water on regional basis

• Conserve relevant specialists• Collaboration

SWRR Contacts

Co chairsRick Swanson rswanson@fs.fed.usBob Goldstein rogoldst@epri.com

CoordinatorTim Smith etsmithusa@netscape.net

Manager and FacilitatorDavid Berry Davidberry@aol.com