The Secretary of the Interior charters the Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI), and its members include organizations from all levels of government and the private sector. Over 60 people attended the February 17-18, 1998, meeting of the ACWI.

The meeting agenda and list of attendees are available in paper copy from the Water Information Coordination Office. Please call (703) 648-5676 if you want this information.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Mark Schaefer of the U.S. Department of the Interior chaired the meeting. After his opening remarks, Dr. Schaefer moderated a panel discussion about the President's fiscal year (FY) 1999 Budget Request. Representatives of six Federal water resources agencies briefly discussed the water resources aspects of their agency budget requests, as follows:

• U.S. Department of the Army (Civil Works) - Claudia Tornblom
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Susan Zevin
• Tennessee Valley Authority - Janet Herrin
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Geoffrey Grubbs
• U.S. Department of Agriculture - Donald Woodward
• U.S. Department of the Interior - Mark Schaefer

The President's FY 1999 Budget Request reflects his commitment to a balanced budget. Both the Corps of Engineers and Tennessee Valley Authority reported that the President's FY 1999 Budget Request includes significant reductions in water resources programs. The reductions primarily are related to the decrease in construction. Also, the TVA is focusing on hydropower aspects of its water-resources mission.

As part of these budget highlights, the panelists mentioned the President's Clean Water Action Plan, including general activities and funding. Because the President released the Action Plan in Baltimore on February 19, 1998, copies of the report were not available for discussion at the meeting. However, Dr. Schaefer arranged for some ACWI member organizations to attend the President's formal announcement of the Action Plan in Baltimore. After the President released the report, the ACWI representatives got copies of the Action Plan.

Later in the morning, member organizations of the ACWI presented a panel discussion about Water Resources Decision Support Systems. The panel presentations reflected a variety of issues associated with decision support systems including differences in geographic scale, the uses of the information, and the timeliness of the information.

Edward Johnson of the National Weather Service and David Wingerd of the Corps discussed Real-time Forecasting and Water Control Operations. The NWS and Corps missions are closely related in these areas. Both speakers stressed the importance of real-time monitoring and information to successful forecasting and water control.

Warren Harper of the Forest Service and Donald Woodward of the Natural Resources Conservation Service talked about Planning Best Management Practices (BMP's) in a Watershed Context. These speakers talked about the need for high resolution information to support the design and implementation of BMP's for forestry and agriculture. They also discussed the need to understand the variability of natural systems in order to control nonpoint source pollution.

Linda Levy of the State of Louisiana (representing the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators) and Geoffrey Grubbs of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency presented Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Evaluation and Implementation. The speakers reported that the USEPA is involved in litigation related to section 303 (d) of the Clean Water Act in about 30 states. They reported that the estimation of TMDL's nationwide presents major monitoring, modeling, financial, and policy challenges. The calculation of pollution loads requires both constituent concentration and streamflow data over a range of conditions.

In the afternoon, John Moeller and Nancy Lopez briefly discussed relationships between the ACWI and the Federal Geographic Data Committee. The title of their presentation was Spatial Data Priorities for Water Resources. Mr. Moeller talked about the status of spatial datasets that will be useful for water resources applications, and Ms. Lopez focused on water resources spatial data activities and needs. Water resources applications require a wide variety of spatial data.

Later in the afternoon, the chairs of ACWI subgroups reported their progress. The subgroup action items are shown below in a separate section. During the report of the National Water Quality Monitoring Council, Elizabeth Fellows of the USEPA announced that she was stepping down as cochair because she recently accepted promotion in a different office of the agency. She introduced the new USEPA cochair Chuck Spooner who is the acting chief of the Monitoring Branch. In recognition of Ms. Fellow's outstanding contributions to water quality monitoring and interagency partnerships, Chief Hydrologist Bob Hirsch presented her a USGS Benchmark Award.

There were no public comments scheduled for the meeting as a result of the Federal Register notice.

For the remainder of the afternoon, the ACWI broke into smaller work groups to discuss selected issues in more depth. The work groups reported the following morning, and the results are summarized in the action items shown below.

After the work group reports, Robert Wayland of the USEPA and Robert Hirsch of the USGS discussed the Clean Water and Watershed Restoration Initiative (CWAP). Michael Davis of the Department of the Army (Civil Works) planned to speak, but he unexpectedly had a meeting out of town.

After the CWAP presentations, chair Mark Schaefer lead the ACWI discussion to develop formal advice and recommendations based on issues considered at the meeting. The deliberations focused primarily on the four following issues: (1) Water resources Decision Support Systems (DSS), (2) water-quality monitoring, (3) streamgaging and water quantity information, and (4) spatial data priorities for water resources. Also, the ACWI addressed a few issues related to the restructuring of the Water Information Coordination Program and the Federal-State Cooperative Program. The resulting advice and recommendations are documented below

1. Water Resources Decision Support Systems (DSS). The ACWI used the following definition for DSS: Information and software, including geographic information science and models, that facilitate a common understanding of complex water-related problems and objectives and that help identify effective courses of action.

   1. The ACWI decided to establish a small ad hoc group to continue work on DSS issues. The following representatives volunteered or were suggested for the ad hoc group: Robert Brocksen/Electric Power Research Institute, Lloyd Gronning/American Water Works Association, Martha Ferrero Juch/American Society of Civil Engineers, and Mary Knapp/Association of State Climatologists.

   2. The ACWI should conduct an inventory of DSS currently used for water resources. The Ad Hoc DSS Group should formally request information from Federal agencies about their DSS for water resources.

   3. At the next ACWI meeting, the Ad Hoc Group should arrange demonstrations and presentations about DSS that have been used successfully for water management and protection.

   4. The most critical DSS development needs are in the following areas:

      1. Systems that integrate and effectively address both multiple water resources processes and multiple objectives.

      2. Nonpoint source pollution management

      3. Evaluating progress toward meeting water quality standards

   5. The following actions are critical to overcoming inadequacies in DSS:

      1. Share and integrate existing DSS tools

      2. Inventory DSS and data for decision making

      3. Carefully link monitoring design to decision requirements

      4. Train professionals and stakeholders in the use of DSS

      5. Improve the ability of water professionals to communicate about DSS effectively with stakeholders. (The breakout group dubbed this "remedial talking." )

   6. Among the actions identified in item d above, the most widespread improvements in water-resources management and protection could be achieved by improving training in the use of DSS and improving professionals' ability to communicate about DSS with stakeholders in the process.

2. Water Quality Monitoring. These recommendations focused on the National Water Quality Monitoring Council (Quality Council).

   1. The Quality Council should develop a work plan that includes the tasks assigned to it in the President's Clean Water Action Plan. The next meeting of the Quality Council is April 20-22, 1998, and the workplan will be the major issue for discussion. [Note: The date of the meeting has been moved to May 11-13, 1998.] The Quality Council needs to revisit the Strategy to Improve Water-Quality Monitoring in the United States to ensure that its work closely tracks the Strategy.

      (See: http://water.usgs.gov/wicp/itfm.html )

   2. For the highest priority tasks, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey should identify resources for implementation. The ACWI expressed concern about the availability of staffing and funding resources to support travel for the Quality Council and other coordination activities.

   3. The Quality Council and the Streamgaging Work Group should maintain close coordination for issues of mutual concern.

   4. The Quality Council has identified six major tasks for itself as shown below:

      1. Compile and recommend a core set of information standards

      2. Develop a World Wide Web catalogue of key water quality data

      3. Develop a core set of pfiesteria indicators

      4. Review papers on monitoring system design

      5. Inventory river corridor physical condition metrics

      6. Assess problems associated with establishing Clean Water Act, Section 303(d), Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL's) for fecal coliform

3. Stream Gaging Task Force. At its meeting in May 1997, the ACWI established an Ad Hoc Group to review the national streamgaging network and other water quantity information needs. The Ad Hoc Group produced a report on stream gaging that is available separately and terms of reference for a National Water-Quantity Information Council.

   1. After much deliberation, the ACWI agreed to focus on stream gaging rather than tackle the full scope of water quantity information needs at once. The purpose of the Task Force is to develop a national strategy to achieve a robust, sustainable system to ensure the availability of streamflow information for all users. The period of time recommended for developing the strategy was 2 years.

   2. The Task Force membership will represent all levels of government and the private sector including both funding partners and users of streamflow information. The Quality Council will have representatives on the Task Force.

4. Water Resources Spatial Data Priorities. Based on the breakout group findings, the ACWI determined that spatial data standards are a critical issue for water resources. Therefore, the ACWI needs to coordinate with related consensus standards organizations such as the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and other organizations. The ACWI indicated that the Spatial Water Data Subcommittee, formerly sponsored jointly by the Water Information Coordination Program and the FGDC, should be reestablished with similar joint sponsorship under the ACWI. The ACWI identified the following critical needs:

   1. Higher resolution, nationally consistent subdivisions of the 8-digit cataloging units of the Hydrologic Units of the United States

   2. Good quality location data for points of water withdrawals and return flows

   3. Reconcile the differences of resolution in coastal areas

   4. Complete the Digital Orthophoto Quads (DOQ's)

   5. Complete the National Hydrography Dataset

   6. Standard templates for consistent attributes within individual themes/categories of data

5. National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program Subcommittee. The ACWI approved the terms of reference for the NAWQA Subcommittee. The action was necessary because of the 1996 restructuring of the Water Information Coordination Program at the national level. This action was needed to provide appropriate sponsorship for the group used to draft advice ultimately intended for the USGS about the NAWQA Program.

6. Review of the Federal-State Cooperative Water Program. At the request of the USGS, the ACWI approved in concept terms of reference for a Task Force that will review the Coop Program and draft recommendations for deliberation by the ACWI. The review is to be completed by December 1, 1998. After the Coop Task Force has an opportunity to review the terms of reference and suggest any needed revisions, the ACWI will approve the terms in final form.

7. Other Activities. Regarding other subcommittees of the former Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data, the ACWI agreed to sponsor and provide an organizational home for the Subcommittee on Hydrology and the Subcommittee on Sedimentation. Both of these subcommittees currently have no parent group. Historically, their membership has been exclusively Federal organizations. These subcommittees have existed as Federal coordination mechanisms since World War II.