Newsletter of the Subcommittee on Hydrology available on-line at: http://acwi.gov/hydrology/index.html Volume 3 Issue 1 March 2011 Welcome from the Chair 2010 has been a somewhat Work Group has been work- Work Group is working on difficult year for the SOH, ing on a proposal to how the a summary report summa- Inside this issue: particularly following the PMP studies could effi- rizing their activities in untimely death of Chair, ciently be updated. The helping with the creation of Welcome from 1 the Chair Mary Greene, in June. In design SOH looks forward a hydrologic modeling in- October, I took over the to hearing from the Extreme ventory web-site hosted by position of Chair to com- Storm Event Work Group Texas A&M University. About the 2 plete Mary’s term which with their recommenda- They will also include rec- Subcommittee On Hydrology ends in October of 2011. tions. ommendations on future When I stepped into this Work Group activities. Water Data Work Group. Highlights from 2 role it felt a little over- While not yet an officially Satellite Telemetry Inter- the whelming and I felt quite October 2010 established Work Group, agency Work Group. The Meeting unprepared. It is only with members continue their STIWG continues to work the help of all member rep- Highlights from 2 great efforts at coordinating to advise managers of the the resentatives that I have been January 2011 with the Hydrology Domain Satellite Data Collection able to step into this role Meeting Working Group a working System on matters concern- and I want to thank each DOI’s with the Work Group Chairs ing satellite relay user re- 3 and every one of you for WaterSMART and all member representa- quirements related to hydro- Implementation your support and encour- Plan tives of the Subcommittee logic, meteorologic, oce- agement. as we work to accomplish anic, and other environ- Work Group 3 Contacts As we move into 2011, I the goals and objectives of mental data. In recent look ahead to maintain SOH as set out years, SOH has not had SOH’s focus on the work much contact with STIWG News from Joint Working Group of the 4 carried out by the SOH and looks to better facilitate Member World Meteorological Or- Organizations Work Groups: communications with the ganization (WMO) and the Work Group in order that Hydrologic Frequency Open Geospatial Consor- Upcoming 5 SOH can better support Conferences and Analysis Work Group. The tium (OGC). their activities. Calls for Papers HFAWG continues to make Hydrologic Modeling Work progress in its update of I look forward to serving Group. The members of the For Your 6 Bulletin 17B. However the out the remainder of my Information Hydrologic Modeling Work importance of this activity is term as Chair and Group are taking a short becoming more important break this year as they cele- in our terms of reference. Student’s Corner 8 as all Federal agencies work brate the success of the Again, thank you all for to address stationarity and 2010 Joint Federal Inter- your encouragement and climate change in planning agency Conference. They support. and design. Upcoming 9 won’t be resting on their Meetings Claudia C. Hoeft Extreme Storm Event Work laurels for long; however, as Chair, SOH Group. Updated precipita- planning for the 2014 con- Editor’s Corner 9 tion frequency data, includ- ference begins later in 2011. ing probable maximum pre- Hydrologic and Hydraulic cipitation data essential. GIS Applications Work The Extreme Storm Event Group. The H&H GIS Volume 3, Issue 1 Page 2 Highlights from October 2010 Meeting A major topic of discus- mary and Brian as alter- Kenneth Kay as their pri- sion at the October 2010 nate. mary and alternate repre- About the meeting was membership sentatives, both of whom Subcommittee on and during this meeting, GEC operated for over 20 represented the Urban For- Hydrology one new member represen- years as the Urban Forest est Center previously. The Purpose of the tative and one new mem- Center which was part of Subcommittee on ber organization were wel- the American Forests na- Minutes from the October Hydrology is “To comed to the SOH tional non-profit organiza- 2010 meeting of SOH are improve the tion. This past year Ameri- available on the SOH web- availability and reliability of surface- Brian Beucler announced can Forests reorganized site at: http://acwi.gov/ water quantity that he will serve as the and dissolved the Urban hydrology/index.html information needed primary representative to Forest Center. The GEC for hazard mitigation, SOH for the Federal High- formed and the staff from water supply and way Administration and the Urban Forest Center demand management, and that Joe Krolak will serve transferred to the new or- environmental as the alternate. Previ- ganization. GEC nomi- protection." All ously, Joe served as pri- nated Don Woodward and members who join the SOH share in and support this common purpose as a network to fulfill our mission as Highlights from January 2011 Meeting defined in the Terms The January 2011 meeting sion items focused primar- of Reference. focused on business of the ily on follow-ups to previ- The subcommittee SOH especially related to ous discussions on items Vice-chair and issues of membership and such as the Hydrological current contact is Claudia Hoeft of the terms of reference. Operational Multipurpose Natural Resources System (HOMS) and Risk Conservation Richard Raione with the Based Assessment and Service. Claudia U.S. Nuclear Regulatory can be reached by Event Severity classifica- Commission was elected phone at tions (202) 720-0772 or by as the Vice Chair for the e-mail at: [email protected] SOH. Additional discus- Detailed information about the subcommittee can be found at: http://acwi.gov/hydrology/ The Subcommittee on Hydrology reports to the Advisory Committee on Water Information that operates under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Back to Table of Contents Volume 3, Issue 1 Page 3 SOH Work Group Contacts DOI’s WaterSMART Extreme Storm Events Work Group Program News http://acwi.gov/hydrology/extreme-storm/index.html The Department of Information on the activities of the Extreme Storm Events Work Group can be Interior WaterSMART obtained from Tom Nicholson. He can be reached by email at: Program (Sustain and [email protected]. Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow) Hydrologic Frequency Analysis Work Group has issued a preliminary http://acwi.gov/hydrology/Frequency/index.html outline on their Strategic Implementation Plan. The plan will establish the Information on the activities of the Work Group can be obtained from Will Thomas. framework to provide He can be reached by e-mail at: [email protected]. federal leadership and assistance on efficient Satellite Telemetry Interagency Work Group use of water, focus on http://acwi.gov/hydrology/stiwg/index.html the integration of water and energy policies for Meeting minutes and information on the activities of this Work Group can be sustainable natural obtained from Richard T Engstrom. He can be reached by phone at: (309) 794-5408 resources use, and or by e-mail at: [email protected] coordinate water conservation activities Hydrologic and Hydraulic GIS Applications Work Group across federal agencies. http://acwi.gov/hydrology/h2gisa/ The DOI is coordinating with the Fish and Wildlife For information on the Work Group or to become a member please contact Bill Service, the Bureau of Merkel by phone at (301)-504-3956 or by e-mail at: [email protected]. Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Land Management, the Hydrologic Modeling Work Group National Park Service, http://acwi.gov/hydrology/Hydro-Modeling/index.html the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Teleconference minutes and additional information on the activities of the Work Group U.S. Geological Survey. can be obtained from Jerry Webb. He can be reached by phone at (202) 761-0673 or by Each agency has offered e-mail at: [email protected] unique and independent goals to study the current water usage with the best available science and implement their own “Water Footprint Reduction Plan.” In addition, the DOI has launched the WaterSMART Clearinghouse, a forum ACWI members can “contribute case studies, best practices, conservation activities and other information.” Back to Table of Contents Volume 3, Issue 1 Page 4 News from Member Organizations NASA—Water Resources NASA Sponsoring 2 Water Management Workshops I. Evapotranspiration: An Essential Ob- II. Global Drought Monitoring Work- servation for Climate Understanding shop, Hilton Washington DC/Silver and Efficient Water Management Spring, 11-12 April, 2011. Workshop. Hilton Washington DC/ Silver Spring, 5-7 April 2011. Workshop Objectives: 1. To review the uses of drought moni- Workshop Objectives: toring products on regional and 1. Define the needs and requirements for global scales. evapotranspiration (ET) data in 2. To assess the specific requirements weather and climate studies, in natural for monitoring agricultural and hy- and agro-ecosystem monitoring, and drological droughts and the capabili- in water resource management. ties of the current suite of NASA 2. To review the methods used to meas- data products to provide that infor- ure and model ET. mation. 3. To assess surface and satellite obser- 3. To develop a set of actions that vation systems required to support ET would enable NASA assets either measurement, modeling and evalua- separately or in collaboration with tion. other agencies such as NOAA, 4. To assess the feasibility of developing USGS, USAID, or USDA to be used a proposal for a task on ET for the for drought monitoring at regional 2012-2015 GEO Work Plan.