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Mid-Atlantic Water Use Workshop
April 19 and 20, 2010

"Never have I seen such energy and enthusiasm about water use in any workshop I've attended over the past 30 years! Thank you for allowing me to participate--it's been a pleasure and a privilege."

Marilee A. Horn
Water-Use Specialist
USGS NH-VT Water Science Center

The Mid-Atlantic Water Use workshop was held on April 19 and 20, 2010 at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia Water Science Center on the Campus of University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in Maryland. More than 50 people attended the workshop, including staff from local, State, and Federal agencies and other water-use professionals such as planners, administrators, engineers, and scientists.

The 17 presentations addressed the evolving state of water-use science and management, including a discussion of new initiatives at the national level, WaterSmart and a National Water Census. Information on water use in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia was presented by several speakers. Additional topics included water use needs for irrigation and thermoelectric power generation, and consumptive water use in the Susquehanna River and Tennessee River watersheds. Several speakers discussed new methods of estimating water use, including the use of remote sensing for estimating agricultural water use, and regression models of domestic use. Other sessions explored the relationship between water use and instream ecological flow needs.

Attendees learned about new approaches to compiling, analyzing, and using water-use information, while developing relationships with other professionals in the field. The workshop encouraged interaction among participants through panel discussions and question and answer sessions, and allowed time for participants to talk informally between sessions.

The workshop attendees suggested that the following actions could be taken to advance USGS and State water use programs:

  1. Use on-line forums and discussions to increase communication and collaboration among:
    • various disciplines within USGS Water Science Centers; and
    • local, state, and federal agencies within States.
  2. . Connect USGS Water Science Centers with other national organizations and Federal agencies across the Nation that have interests in water use, such as the energy and agriculture sectors.
  3. Hold a national meeting of Water-Use specialists, and additional multi-discipline workshops or meetings that include break-out sessions. These gatherings allow:
    • Opportunities to see what other states are doing;
    • Recognition of partnerships with ‘data-providers’; and
    • Communication via workshop web pages.
  4. Raise awareness and emphasize the importance of water use in any study of sustainability and availability of water resources.
  5. Develop better geo-spatial representation of water use data and conveyances.
  6. Do more to publicize the USGS 5-year compilation release.
  7. Increase support for StreamStats and investigate inclusion of new data types in StreamStats, such as water quality and biota data.
  8. Offer training: for example, SWUDS (USGS Site-Specific Water Use Data System).

To view the agenda and download the talks, please see the Agenda and Presentations page.

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