Water Resources Research Act Program-Current Status, Development Opportunities, and Priorities for 2020-30

Abstract

Liquid water has long been identified as fundamental to the habitability of our planet and life on Earth (Kasting and others, 1993). Availability of and access to safe, adequate freshwater supplies are critical to our Nation's prosperity and quality of life. Socioeconomics, geopolitical stressors, population growth, and climate variability, among other factors, provide challenges for management of water resources. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the primary agency tasked with serving our Nation through “…observing, understanding, predicting, and delivering water science to the Nation” (Evenson and others, 2013, p. 2). The USGS Water Resources Research Act (WRRA) Program connects our Nation's academic capital to the USGS mission by delivering university-based research, outreach, and education services to our citizens. For more than 50 years, the WRRA Program has invested in local, State, and regionally focused water-related research; information and technology transfer; and workforce development through student training and professional internships. A true Federal-State partnership, the WRRA Program is administered in the Office of Planning and Programming of the USGS Water Resources Mission Area (WMA) and complements, but is distinct from, the WMA Science Centers and Divisions. Unique to the WRRA Program are the congressionally established and mandated State water resources research institutes based at our Nation's universities and colleges (Water Resources Research Act of 1984; Public Law 88-379, Stat. 78). Institutes complete water-related research, outreach, and education activities to seek solutions to and resolve our Nation's water problems. The 54 State water resources research institutes (or centers) provide water-related services in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. The WRRA Program has demonstrated success in serving our Nation, having funded hundreds of competitive research projects annually and trained nearly 11,000 students in a recent 16-year period (Donohue and Lerner, 2018). In May 2018, the Federal program coordinator of the WRRA Program charged an ad hoc vision committee with developing a long-term (10-year) vision for the WRRA Program. This report fulfills that request. Vision committee members were directors of State WRRA institutes (or centers) and were selected for their disciplinary expertise in water resources, programmatic planning experience, and stakeholder relations. Vision committee members also were selected to include representation that reflected the diverse hydrological, ecological, and socioeconomic circumstances of different regions throughout the Nation. The vision committee worked in partnership with the WRRA Program coordinator and sought contributions from the 54 WRRA Program State institutes.