U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

US Geological Survey Water Resources Science in Support of Central Asia

US Focus on Water Resources in Central Asia?

Regional economic development

Water resources are finite and need to be used in sustainable and resilient manner

Central Asia has significant potential for economic development

Rare Earth Production Trends

Credibility and Reputation of Bureau

& Agency Science

Scientific Integrity is maintained when all of the building blocks are solid and uncompromised. Atransgression in any of elements of these building blocks could undermine the credibility of theindividual scientists involved and potentially damage the reputation of the entire bureau or agency.

Credibility and Reputation of Individual Scientist Employees

Publishing in Reputable

Outlets

Participation in Peer Review

Adherence to Professional

Codes of Conduct

Willing to Consider New Data and Analyses

Behaving Ethically at All Times

Avoiding Real and Potential Conflicts of

Interest

Having a Deep Understanding of Subject Matter and Staying Current

Adhering to the Scientific Method and the Process of Science

Scientific Data Enable Scientific Integrity and Credibilityand Sustainable Natural Resource Management

Integrated Versus Traditional Approach

InterdisciplinaryIntegrated

Graphic courtesy of

• Natural resources seldom occur in isolation

• Controversies often emerge around perceived environmental, economic,

and societal needs and values

• Interdisciplinary, integrated approaches are necessary to delineate natural

resources, characterize interactions among resources, engage stakeholder

concerns and participation, and strike a balance among competing resource

interests

ConservationConservation

AgricultureAgriculture

MiningMining

TourismTourism

Social

Infrastructure

Social

Infrastructure

Physical

Infrastructure

Physical

Infrastructure

RestorationRestoration

FisheriesFisheries

Minerals

Geology

Traditional

USGS & Water Resources Data, Information, and Assessments

• The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey is to collect and disseminate reliable, impartial, and timely information that is needed to understand the Nation's water resources.

• The USGS has a distributed water database that is locally managed including surface water, groundwater, and water quality data compiled from local, distributed databases into a national information system.

• The groundwater database contains records from ~ 850,000 compiled over the past 100 years.

• Information is served via the Internet through NWISWeb, the National Water Information System Web Interface.

• “Groundwater watch" web pages group wells and data from the well networks, and provide basic statistics about the water-level data .

Real-time streamflows for the U.S. indicate where flood and drought conditions are occurring.

Real-time surface-water data for a river indicate immediate river fluctuations caused by reservoir releases (as shown above) or caused by precipitation/flood events.

Real-time groundwater data is used by water-management boards and agriculturalists to determine timing and amount of irrigation withdrawal.

1. Build capacity in real-time monitoring services2. Provide training on data procedures3. Provide training on water resources

assessment techniques through practical examples

Potential areas for future collaboration on water resources in the Syr-Darya Basin:

Integrated Regional Water-Resource Data Assessment and Dissemination for Central Asian Countries

Objectives: Review existing techniques used by water-resource scientists and managers for

integrated assessment and dissemination of groundwater and surface-water data. Provide instruction on groundwater and surface-water data collection, archival, and

dissemination methods through web-based products to identify potential data gaps and assess regional water-management and development scenarios.

Approach:Topics may include the following depending on the needs and skills of participants:

• Application of archival and dissemination techniques using web-based products.• Analysis of surface-water flows and groundwater levels using USGS methods.• Water well inventories, assessment of data bases, assessment of aquifer properties.• Collection and analysis of chemical and isotopic data of surface and groundwater for

estimating aquifer source water contributions and age dating.• Integrated analysis of various hydrologic data through the use of individual or combined

surface water and groundwater simulation using USGS computer modeling software.

Training would occur in the U.S. and a location in Central Asia.

Participants could provide presentations about water-resource assessment issues from their country to instill the concepts of data-sharing and trust-building among nations.

1. Analysis of chemical and isotopic tracers for identification of recharge sources and age of groundwater.2. Integration of remotely-sensed, geoportal, and surface water data through groundwater flow modeling.3. Assessment of water balance and sustainability of selected aquifer (similar to the USGS Kabul Basin study).

Water balance assessment for critical water supply

Water Balance Assessment of Critical Water Supply and Aquifers,

Kabul Afghanistan ExampleExample – Kabul Basin, Afghanistan

Population growth Climate change

Potential Effects of Climate Change on

Water Supply , the Kabul Basin example

1. In-country (US) and overseas training programs.2. Mentoring programs3. Technical Training Workshops4. Short-Term (1-year) Scientific Exchanges5. Analytical Laboratory Support6. Bilateral Agreements

Mechanisms for Collaboration

Science is more essential for our prosperity, our security, our health, our environment, and our quality of life than it has ever been.

President ObamaAt the National Academy of Sciences

April 27, 2009