Narrator:
Water
Fundamental to life
Critical to the nation’s infrastructure
A key component of the landscape
A source of energy
Essential to recreation
Jeff Simley, USGS:
The demand for water in a growing nation is huge
Water is not always plentiful and it can be used
beyond its limits.
Narrator:
Tracking our nation’s water resources to ensure
a clean and plentiful supply is an important
task of the federal government.
Agencies like the U.S. Geological Survey play a key role in assessing and mapping water.
The National Map produced by the Geological Survey is an
important tool used by scientists in studying water resources.
It is the combination of several forms of landscape data such
as surface elevations, transportation, urban areas, and water.
Jeff Simley, USGS:
The water component of The National Map, called The National Hydrography Dataset, is a highly
detailed
computer database. It gives scientists the ability
to analyze the nation’s surface water.
Narrator:
The dataset identifies where problems, exist in the water
and tracks changes in water supply.
It also develops solutions, ensuring a clean and plentiful supply.
Fiona Renton, California Environmental Protection Agency:
In California, water is a critical resource and the proper
management of water rights is an essential responsibility
of the state government. This used to be done using over
forty thousand index cards linked to three thousand maps
using hand-drawn dots. We desperately needed to modernize
the system to provide public access to the information
using the internet. To do this we used a geographic information system incorporating
the
National Hydrography Dataset component of The National Map.
Not only did this give us the mapped locations of water,
it also gave us a water addressing system for locating
the points of diversion and a flow network for identifying
related upstream and downstream water rights. We modernized California’s water rights
system, and advanced
the capability of the system to the state-of-the-art in GIS that will serve us for many years to
come.
Lidia Szabo Kraft, Michigan Department of Natural Resources:
In Michigan what we are trying to do is restore healthy
populations of fish, the Lake Sturgeon is a great example.
One problem faced by the Lake Sturgeon, is that they have
difficulty reaching potential spawning grounds upstream
because of dams and other barriers. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources
is modeling
Michigan’s waters to determine how we can give the
Lake Sturgeon better access to spawning grounds by
removing or modifying dams. So this is done using a
geographic information system powered by data from
The National Map and in particular we use the
National Hydrography Dataset. And this dataset is ideal
for our needs because it contains dam locations and it
allows us to add our own model for suitable spawning habitat.
So using the navigation capabilities of this data,
we can make accurate measurements that provide cost-benefit analysis in the decision making
process
for either removing or modifying dams.
Bill Samuels, SAIC supporting the U.S. Forest Service:
The protection of public drinking water supplies is
an important issue for safety officials throughout government.
In working with the U.S. Forest Service, we have paired
existing pollution analysis techniques and several new
forms of data; creating an emergency response system that
will help first responders identify threats to water supplies.
To do this, we use data called the NHD-Plus. This is NHD data that has been enhanced by
the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to give us information
about water flow and velocity. That information is then updated
by the USGS real-time stream gage network at the time
of the incident. Our software looks at the characteristics
of the contaminant and models the time interval when a
drinking water intake will be affected by a toxic spill.
That helps emergency responders take measures to protect the public.
Narrator:
Geospatial data produced by the USGS often forms a foundation
for many applications. In cases such as this, the data is further
enhanced in a series of data integration steps to
create impressive new capabilities.
Jeff Simley, USGS:
These examples demonstrate that with advanced datasets from
The National Map, there are many new possibilities for
analyzing geographic information.
So where do we go from here? First, scientists want even detail
in the data such as more streams and lakes.
Fortunately new sensor and imaging technologies are driving
down costs and making this possible.
Second, many characteristics can be added to the drainage
network, making analysis even more powerful.
This technology is well-defined and ready to go.
Third, we need to better integrate the many types of data
that impact the science. Water data such as streamgages are
being included, and other themes of data like elevation
and land cover must also be well-integrated.
I am tremendously encouraged that we can achieve this
through the partnership of scientists and resource managers
that work on water issues in this country. We are also working closely with colleagues
in
Canada and Mexico to do this for all of North America.
Finally, by making the technology powerful, yet easy to use,
we can put it in the hands of all geospatial data users,
not just a few highly trained specialists. That is where we
will see our biggest achievement. When all scientists
at all levels of expertise are using National Map data
such as the National Hydrography Dataset,
the sharing of information and knowledge will bring
environmental science to a new level.
Narrator:
Visit www.NationalMap.gov to see how you can partner with us for the future.