Continuing progress toward a national assessment of water availability and use

Abstract

This report is the second in a series of reports to the U.S. Congress on the progress toward a National Assessment of Water Availability and Use (also known as the USGS National Water Census). These reports are required by the SECURE Water Act (P.L. 111-11, Section 9508 (d)) (42 USC 10368). The first report, "Progress toward establishing a national assessment of water availability and use, U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1384" (Alley and others, 2013), was delivered in March 2013. It described the initial steps taken by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) toward accomplishing a national census of water resources. The USGS National Water Census (the Water Census) is designed to systematically provide information that will allow resource managers to assess the supply, use, and availability of the Nation's water. This second report explains how the Water Census has progressed toward this goal from 2013 to 2017. This report describes the critical work that is underway to understand, assess, and deliver information about water availability, as well as the collaboration and coordination with other agencies and organizations that are essential for the Water Census to succeed. This report describes the on-going regional framework for presenting water-availability data through a set of geographic focus area studies and regional groundwater assessments, and the national framework for providing uniform information on water-budget components across the country through targeted topical studies.