Confronting the Nation's Water Problems The Role of Research (2004) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix E: Charter of the Subcommittee on Water Availability and Quality
Appendix E: Charter of the Subcommittee on Water Availability and Quality
Pages 288-298
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From page 288... ...
For the purpose of this Subcommittee, water resources are defined as fresh and brackish water in the atmosphere, streams, lakes, unsaturated zone, aquifers, and estuaries. The Subcommittee will focus on science issues and policy related to needed improvements in technology and research that will advance the goal of ensuring a safe and sustainable supply of water in the United States for human and ecological needs.
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From page 289... ...
5. Recommend budget priorities that will target federal spending toward the most critical needs for ensuring safe and sustainable water supplies for human and ecological uses.
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From page 290... ...
G Approval By my signature below, I hereby approve the formation of the Subcommittee on Water Availability and Quality, subject to the terms in this charter, as a function of the Executive Branch consistent with the public interest and with its lawful duties.
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From page 291... ...
In those areas where water use was growing, the West and the South primarily, this resulted in growing stresses on the total supply for the users and in significant impacts on the aquatic community, as these off-stream diversions left little water in the rivers during dry periods. Groundwater use increased rapidly due to better technology and because of the limits on surface-water supplies.
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From page 292... ...
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE THIRD ERA OF WATER RESOURCES The era of plentiful, clean water supplies and pristine, biologically diverse aquatic resources has been replaced by an era of highly developed water resource management and regulatory and voluntary programs to restore and maintain water quality. Science and technology generated via federal research have enabled both the utilization of water resources and the information and technologies needed to guide related public policy and economic development needs.
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From page 293... ...
1. Quantifying the future availability of freshwater in light of both withdrawal uses and ecosystem uses: A very common problem in the Third Era is that the existing infrastructure for storing and delivering water for uses such as agricultural, urban, or industrial needs is now being called upon to support healthy biotic communities in rivers and associated lakes, wetlands, and floodplains.
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From page 294... ...
" Without scientifically defensible answers to this kind of question, regional water management decisions will remain gridlocked in a manner that serves neither the withdrawal users nor the ecosystem. The recent article in Science magazine regarding the Klamath River Basin gives a prime example of this gridlock, but many other examples exist nationwide (e.g.
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From page 295... ...
Sources include sewer overflows, leaky sanitary sewers, malfunctioning septic tanks, animal production facilities, pets, and wildlife.
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From page 296... ...
Any good experimental design demands a rigorous measurement plan, data analysis plan, hypothesis tests, and reporting of results in the peer reviewed literature. The SWAQ will explore how well the nation is positioned to conduct adaptive management of water, with the complete feedback loop from design, to action, to data, to results, and back to design and action.
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From page 297... ...
ON-TIME DELIVERY OF VERIFIED TECHNOLOGIES The Third Era is different from the first two water resources eras in that a robust private sector that develops, markets, and deploys technologies to meet water resources needs exists, and the capability and capacity are apparently available to further respond. The federal research community's role needs to shift from a development role to one of catalyzing the marketplace by identifying unmet needs.
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From page 298... ...
298 APPENDIX E 3. Characterize the content and expected results of the action plan and formally transmit reports with recommendations to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR)
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