A group of Cooperative Matching Funds (CMF) projects across the U.S. will help to support development of National and Regional Integrated Water Availability Assessments (IWAAs). IWAAs are a multi-extent, stakeholder-driven, near real-time census and seasonal prediction of water availability for both human and ecological uses at regional and national extents.
The IWAAs are designed to provide information to meet the goals of the National Water Census as established through the SECURE Water Act. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2019, Congress provided the Water Availability and Use Science Program (WAUSP) with $1 million in additional Cooperative Matching Funds (CMF) to pilot projects in support of IWAAs.
WAUSP selected 10 new projects across the U.S. that will help to support development of National and Regional IWAAs. This work will be conducted with state and local partners with the support of CMF and will cover a variety of technical topics focused on improving our ability to provide the data, tools, and information stakeholders need to make water-resource management decisions.