Confronting the Nation's Water Problems The Role of Research (2004) / Chapter Skim
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2 The Evolving Federal Role in Support of Water Resources Research
2 The Evolving Federal Role in Support of Water Resources Research
Pages 34-63
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From page 34... ...
It then turns to a more detailed discussion of the federal role in water resources research and of efforts over the last 50 years to organize and coordinate federally supported water resources research. NATIONAL INTERESTS IN WATER Over the last 200 years, water resources in the United States have undergone a profound transformation.
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From page 35... ...
The earliest federal role in water development and management began in the 1820s when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps)
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From page 36... ...
. The Development Era The presidency of Theodore Roosevelt between 1901 and 1908 brought with it a new attitude about the federal role respecting natural resources, including water.
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From page 37... ...
The National Resources Planning Board, which had been the lone mechanism for coordinating federal water programs during the 1930s, was abolished in 1941, leaving agencies with such programs free to compete for congressional funding. The political attractiveness of using federal funding to pay for expensive water development projects motivated Congress to authorize even more of these projects in the 1940s and 1950s than it had in the 1930s (Holmes, 1972)
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From page 38... ...
The Senate Select Committee also acknowledged a 1948 congressional finding that there was an appropriate federal role in the abatement of water pollution. There was also recognition that significant new federal funding would be required to address the nation's water quality needs.
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The federal Water Pollution Control Act, originally enacted in 1948, was totally reshaped by the amendments of 1972 and 1977 (P.L.
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A Water Quality Incentive Program (now part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program) offered technical and financial assistance to farmers willing to modify their agricultural practices in a manner that would reduce nonpoint source pollution.
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From page 41... ...
Furthermore, the Federal Power Commission carried out surveys to determine potential locations for federally constructed hydroelectric power facilities, although authorization to construct and operate such facilities did not come until much later. The underlying purpose of all this federal research was to support water development and management programs and ensure that they contributed to regional economic development.
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From page 42... ...
This early research evolved into the comprehensive water research program that is carried out by the USDA today, which focuses on the connection between agriculture and water resources. The importance of federally sponsored scientific research to the country's World War II efforts prompted President Franklin Roosevelt in 1944 to ask Vannevar Bush to examine possible federal roles in supporting scientific research
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From page 43... ...
This latter finding would represent a significant broadening of scope for federally supported water research. Perhaps most important, the committee requested the executive branch to review existing water research programs and to develop a coordinated program of research aimed at meeting the needs identified in its 1961 report.
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From page 44... ...
The first was "to manage our natural water resources and to augment them when necessary so as to meet all necessary requirements for water, both in quantity and quality." The second was "to minimize water-caused damages to life and property." The committee then specified the goal of federal water research to be the provision of knowledge necessary to meet the national water goals (listed above) as efficiently as possible.
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From page 45... ...
. The work of the Senate Select Committee had also elevated interest in promoting water research, leading to the enactment of the Water Resources Research Act of 1964.
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From page 46... ...
Thus, COWWR, related agency research activities, the Water Resources Research Institutes, and the associated competitive grants program traced their origins to the Senate Select Committee. Most of the resulting research was focused on supporting physical water development activities.
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From page 47... ...
It found that about a third of the federal water research funding was going to water quality problems, followed by research related to the hydrologic cycle, water supply augmentation and conservation, and planning. It identified six areas of needed research, with priority being given to assessing impacts of water resources development, improving wastewater treatment, and evaluating water for energy production.
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From page 48... ...
. The committee stated that "overall the only conclusion that can be reached is that the federal water research program has fared poorly in the Congress and with the Office of Management and Budget." Concluding that the primary reason for this lack of success was a failure (1)
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From page 49... ...
COWRR was abolished during a far-reaching reorganization of its parent body FCCSET in 1977. There was nonetheless an interest in sustaining the federal role in water resources research, as evidenced by the 1978 Water Research and Development Act, which called for the Secretary of the Interior to prepare a five-year water resources research plan.4 The Department of Interior enlisted the support of the National Research Council (NRC)
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From page 50... ...
Congress ultimately funded the institute program, but at a reduced level, and it elected not to fund the competitive grants program. In 1982, Secretary of the Interior James Watt abolished the Office of Water Research and Technology, placing the institute program under an Office of Water Policy in the Department of the Interior and the matching grants program under the USBR.
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From page 51... ...
The report emphasized the need for education and training to be considered a fundamental part of a national water research agenda. Work groups proposed an extensive agenda of important water research priorities for the next three to five years, and the report included six "themes" that run through this agenda.5 The administration of President George Bush continued to view water resources research in the context of specific agency responsibilities, such as water quality protection, or in relation to larger problems of which water was a part, such as global change.
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From page 52... ...
. In 1995 the Clinton administration elected not to request funding for the Water Resources Research Institute program.
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From page 53... ...
. Envisioning, which forms the basis for the current report, outlined 43 research priorities and called for the creation of a "national water research board" to establish and oversee the national water research agenda.
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From page 54... ...
This cast the federal government into more of a regulatory role and deemphasized the federal role in promoting economic growth through water resources development. As broad support for national water policies that focused on development began to erode, competing interests pursued their individual objectives.
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55 Program chapter. and Program 2000 Sciences this Water Freshwater Imperative in Watersheds Hydrologic Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences Institutes NSF 1990 mentioned National conference on Water Resources are Farm Bill with water quality provisions Research Water Resources Research Act that CERCLA Resources 1980 Water Research and Development Act Research research Council Research RCRA Water Safe Drinking Water Act Endangered Species Act Commission Resources Clean Water Act resources Resources Resources EPA Created Water Water 1970 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act Water of Water water on Water Resources Planning Act in National Office Water Resources Research Act Senate Select Committee Report Committee 1960 Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act publications and Commission 1950 Federal Water Pollution Control Act legislation, Power events, Federal 1940 Flood Control Act 20th-century Tennessee Valley Authority Created of 1930 Boulder Canyon Project Act Timeline 2-1 Federal Water Power Act 1920 FIGURE
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From page 56... ...
Later, as political support for federal funding of water development weakened and as the federal role shifted to technological and regulatory protection of water quality, the emphasis of the research agendas shifted accordingly. No doubt these variations also reflect to some degree the mental frameworks and particular interests of those who developed the agendas.
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From page 57... ...
· research on water resources planning · research on water pollution control · research on water conservation continued
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From page 58... ...
The committee identified six national issues motivating the need for water research: energy, food and fiber production, the environment and public health, population growth, land use, and materials. The water prob lems inherent in these issues suggested six general research areas: · hydrologic and hydraulic processes · water quality · planning and institutions · atmospheric and precipitation processes · hydrologicecological relationships · water supply development and management NRC Federal Water Resources Research (NRC, 1981)
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From page 59... ...
Water quality · significance of trace contaminants to human health · water reuse · control of contaminants from energy development · land disposal of wastes · monitoring for pollution control IV. Water management · water problems of food and fiber production in stressed environments · conjunctive management of ground and surface water · water conservation in municipal, industrial, energy, and agricultural uses · control of pollution from nonpoint sources · management systems for water resources · management of resources under flood and drought hazards V
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From page 60... ...
Water availability · develop new and innovative supply-enhancing technologies · improve existing supply-enhancing technologies such as waste water treatment, desalting, and groundwater banking · increase safety of wastewater treated for reuse as drinking water · develop innovative techniques for preventing pollution · understand physical, chemical, and microbial contaminant fate and transport · control nonpoint source pollution · understand impact of land-use changes and best management practices on pollutant loading to waters · understand impact of contaminants on ecosystem services, biotic indices, and higher organisms · understand assimilation capacity of the environment and time course of recovery following contamination · improve integrity of drinking water distribution systems · improve scientific bases for risk assessment and risk management with regard to water quality · understand national hydrologic measurement needs and develop a program that will provide these measurements · develop new techniques for measuring water flows and water quality, including remote sensing and in situ techniques · develop data collection and distribution in near real time for improved forecasting and water resources operations · improve forecasting the hydrologic cycle over a range of time scales and on a regional basis · understand and predict the frequency and cause of severe weather (floods and droughts) · understand recent increases in damage from floods and droughts · understand global change and its hydrologic impacts continued
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From page 61... ...
THE EVOLVING FEDERAL ROLE IN SUPPORT OF WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH 61 Water use · understand determinants of water use in the agricultural, domestic, commercial, public, and industrial sectors · understand relationship of agricultural water use to climate, crop type, and water application rates · develop improved crops for more efficient water use and optimize the economic return for water used · develop improved crop varieties for use in dryland agriculture · understand water-related aspects of the sustainability of irrigated agriculture · understand behavior of aquatic ecosystems in a broad, systematic context, including their water requirements · enhance and restore species diversity in aquatic ecosystems · improve manipulation of water-quality parameters to maintain and enhance aquatic habitats · understand interrelationship between aquatic and terrestrial eco systems to support watershed management Water institutions · develop legal regimes that promote groundwater management and conjunctive use of surface and groundwater · understand issues related to the governance of water where it has common pool and public good attributes · understand uncertainties attending to Native American water rights and other federal reserved rights · improve equity in existing water management laws · conduct comparative studies of water laws and institutions · develop adaptive management · develop new methods for estimating the value of nonmarketed attributes of water resources · explore use of economic institutions to protect common pool and pure public good values related to water resources · develop efficient markets and market-like arrangements for water · understand role of prices, pricing structures, and the price elasticity of water demand · understand role of the private sector in achieving efficient provision of water and wastewater services · understand key factors that affect water-related risk communica tion and decision processes · understand user-organized institutions for water distribution, such as cooperatives, special districts, and mutual companies · develop different processes for obtaining stakeholder input in form ing water policies and plans · understand cultural and ethical factors associated with water use · conduct ex post research to evaluate the strengths and weak nesses of past water policies and projects
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From page 62... ...
Water Research: 19781982. Washington, DC: Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering and Technology.
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From page 63... ...
1962. An analysis of the work of the Senate Select Committee on National Water Resources, 19591961.
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