California Water Data

This small invitational dialogue and workshop brought together a select group of researchers, policymakers and water managers to frame a viable, cost-effective approach to California’s water data needs. The workshop was held in Sacramento, California, on November 4, 2011.

Please see the agenda, confirmed participant list, and background materials for the meeting below.

This workshop arose from Stanford University’s Water in the West program which conducted a series of scoping meetings last year on data, metrics, and performance measurements for moving California toward more sustainable water systems. During those meetings, participants reported that the lack of accessible, consistent, comprehensive data about water supply and use in the state is a key missing element in the pursuit of sustainable water management.  The need for better information was also identified in the California Legislature’s AB 1404 and in a Coordinated Water Measurement feasibility study completed by the State Water Resources Control Board and California Environmental Protection Agency in 2009.  Though these efforts clearly identified the need, nothing has happened with these proposals.

Our aim in this dialogue and workshop was to identify the impediments to implementing an accessible comprehensive database of existing data currently collected by state agencies on water in California. Although we recognize the potential needs and desires for additional data that is not the aim of this workshop. Our goal was to identify a clear path for implementing a coordinated database such as that proposed in the California Water Boards feasibility study  or, if that is not feasible, to identify a viable path for creating an alternative, cost-effective proposal for reforming the ways in which water data is gathered, reported, and made accessible to researchers, NGOs, and the public, particularly at the state level.