Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable Report

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Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable Report SWRR Report SSuussttaaiinnaabbllee WWaatteerr RReessoouurrcceess RRoouunnddttaabbllee RReeppoorrtt MMaarrcchh 22001100 i SWRR Report Table of Contents Foreword………………………………………………………………………………………………ii Chapter 1: SWRR History 1 Authority ............................................................................................................................................1 Mission ...............................................................................................................................................1 Vision .................................................................................................................................................2 Primary Goals and Objectives ...........................................................................................................2 Chapter 2: Principles of Water Sustainability 3 Representing Sustainable Management with Systems Concepts and Indicators ...............................4 Developing the Indicator Framework ................................................................................................5 Chapter 3: Outreach Activities, Presentations, and Contributions 7 Roundtable Activities……………………………………………………………………………….7 The Energy and Water Nexus ..........................................................................................................13 Selected Abstracts by Roundtable Participants................................................................................23 Selected Abstracts by Water Resource Professionals ......................................................................24 Chapter 4: Applications and Case Studies 26 Chesapeake Bay: The Opportunity for Integrated Solutions………............................................... 26 Missouri River Basin: The Need for Sustainable Management.......................................................32 Sustainability in the Land of 10,000 Lakes………………………………………………………..40 Michigan Innovations in Water Management ..................................................................................48 Chapter 5: Highlights of National Initiatives on Sustainable Water Management 59 Recent Heinz Center Work on Water Indicators .............................................................................59 National Environmental Status and Trends .....................................................................................61 USGS National Water Census .........................................................................................................62 Water Environment Federation 2008 ...............................................................................................66 EPA Report on Environment, Water Chapter ..................................................................................66 Appendix A: Matrix of Candidate SWRR Criteria & Indicators 68 Appendix B: SWRR Letter to the National Environmental Status and Trends 86 Appendix C: Water Environment Federation Sustainability 2008, Green Practices for the Water Environment June 22-25, 2008, National Harbor, MD 90 Appendix D: Water Environment Federation WEFTEC.08 Annual Conference, Sustainable Water Resources Management, Technical Sessions, October 18-22, 2008, Chicago, Illinois 96 i SWRR Report Foreword The Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and information to promote better decision making regarding the sustainable management of our nation‘s water resources. SWRR was established as the fourth multi-stakeholder resource roundtable, bringing together a wide range of participants representing a diverse range of interests from academia, state and federal government, non-profit organizations, corporations, and regional partnerships. SWRR is a subgroup to the Advisory Committee on Water Information, a Federal Advisory Committee under Office of Management and Budget Memorandum 92-01. The roundtable encourages cross-sector collaboration and partnerships that foster greater understanding of our social, economic, and ecological systems. It supports development of sustainable management policies that contribute to the health and vitality of our economic, social, and environmental systems both now and in the future. This report outlines the formation of SWRR, provides insight into its mission and goals, and highlights activities in 2008 and 2009. We also hope it effectively communicates the roundtable‘s contributions to the field of water resources and suggests how the work of the roundtable can be applied to water resource sustainability topics and activities throughout the nation. This report consists of five main chapters. The first chapter provides an introduction to the history of SWRR and its relation to the other natural resource roundtables; the second discusses the roundtable‘s guiding principles and conceptual framework; the third provides a review of recent roundtable activities, and presentations and papers by SWRR participants and others who have contributed to the field of water resources. The fourth chapter provides case studies that apply principles of sustainable management. These case studies demonstrate the value of applying a sustainable approach to water management that is consistent with the mission, vision, and goals of the roundtable. Featured topics in this chapter include the innovative use of key indicators by citizens and stakeholders in the Chesapeake Bay region, Minnesota‘s and Michigan‘s efforts to develop frameworks for sustainable allocation of water, and opportunities to use a system of indicators and integrated stakeholder involvement in the Missouri River Basin. Chapter five provides insight into national initiatives on water resources and includes reports on the Council on Environmental Quality‘s National Environmental Status and Trends initiative, an interagency process led by the United States Forest Service; the United States Geological Survey National Water Census; The Heinz Center‘s work on ecosystem indicators; the Environmental Protection Agency Report on the Environment, water chapter, and collaborations between the ii SWRR Report roundtable and the Water Environment Federation. The roundtable anticipates that this report will be a resource for water resource managers, policymakers, and stakeholders who seek to inform policy decisions with principles of sustainable water management. In keeping with SWRR‘s focus to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information, we look forward to enhancing dialogue and meaningful partnerships with organizations, institutions, government, and citizens alike. In 2010, SWRR will continue to be a forum for the exchange of information and ideas related to the sustainability of water resources. We have elected two new co-chairs, John Wells of the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board and Bob Wilkinson of the Bren School at UC Santa Barbara. The roundtable‘s 2010 meetings will take place in the San Francisco Bay area, the Midwest, and the Washington DC area. In 2010, the roundtable will work in support of: a) an ad hoc USGS working group to help design the national Water Census; b) efforts to build interest in and collaborate with the National Environmental Status and Trends project, which will establish a national set of environmental indicators; and c) the continuing national collaboration for a sustainable water resources future. In addition, we will continue efforts to further refine and populate the roundtable‘s framework of indicators for determining if the nation is managing its water resources on a sustainable basis. We welcome participation and input from all those with an interest in the sustainability of water resources. Finally, we recognize the efforts of all of those that have contributed to the work of SWRR over the years, and those that have contributed to this report. Special thanks to Douglas J. Wade, who proposed regular SWRR reports to the roundtable develop as a means to engage partners, and to this report‘s contributors, including Douglas, David Berry, Warren Flint, Rhonda Kranz, Robin O‘Malley, Ethan Smith, Alan Steinman, Stacy Tellinghuisen, John Wells, Harry Zhang, and the other SWRR participants and contributing organizations. Rick Swanson, US Forest Service Robert Goldstein, Electric Power Research Institute Co-Chairs Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable February 2010 Supporting Organizations University, Non-Profit, Companies & State Federal Alice Ferguson Foundation Advisory Committee on Water Information American Water Resources Association President‘s Council on Environmental Quality Annis Water Resources Institute U.S. Department of Agriculture California Department of Water Resources Natural Resources Conservation Service Ecological Society of America Forest Service Electric Power Research Institute U.S. Department of Commerce Five E‘s Unlimited National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Illinois State Water Survey U.S. Department of Energy Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments National Energy Technology Lab Minnesota Environmental Quality Board National Renewable Energy Lab Rural Community Assistance Partnership U.S. Department of the Interior Universities Council on Water Resources Bureau of Land Management University of California, Santa Barbara Bureau of Reclamation University of Illinois Fish and Wildlife Service University of Michigan, Ann Arbor U.S. Geological Survey Water Environment Federation U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Western Pennsylvania Watershed Program iii SWRR Report Chapter 1: SWRR History The idea for a
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