Sustainable Water Resource Use: Proposed Indicators

1. Sustainable Water Resource Use: Proposed Indicators Rhonda Kranz November 15, 2007

2. Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable A national collaboration of federal, state, local, corporate, non-profit, and academic interests

3. Our Mission To promote sustainability of our nation’s resources through … • Evaluation of information • Development & use of indicators • Targeting of research • Engagement of people & partners

4. Principles of Water Sustainability • The value & limits of water • Shared responsibility • Equitable access • Stewardship

5. Essential Relationships of Sustainability Biophysical Environment Economic System Ecosystems Social System

6. Fisheries Systems Perspective Biophysical Environment Economic System Fisheries laws, institutions, customs and communities Aquatic & related ecosystems Markets, capital and labor Social System

7. Information Pyramid Fewer Pieces Of Information Stories Criteria Indicators More Pieces Of Information Measurements

8. Ecosystem Processes& SocietalDrivers Ecosystems Society Natural Processes: Disturbance & Response Energy Cycling Hydrologic Cycle & Flow Regime Materials Cycling Social & Economic Drivers: Economic Development Energy Production and Use Land Use Population Growth Transportation Ecosystem goods & services time time Human alterations & discharges

9. Indicators Measures that present trends and information relevant to water sustainability in a readily understandable way

10. Indicator Roles and Uses • Local – Regional – National – International • Government – industry – academic – NGO (environmental, health, community, etc)

11. Damn!

12. Iterative Indicator Identification Process • 386 candidate indicators • Initial framework • Meetings and discussion/revisions • Current proposed 5 part framework

13. Proposed Framework for Organizing Water Sustainability Indicators • Water availability • Water quality • Human uses and health • Environmental health • Infrastructure and institutions

14. A. Water Availability • Renewable water resources • Water in the environment • Water use sustainability

15. Ground Water Levelsin the High Plains

16. Water Use Sustainability Withdrawals as a % of available precipitation, 1995 Figure 4.16.1 Total Freshwater Withdrawal in 1995 (as a percent of available precipitation) Source: S. Roy, K. Summers and R. Goldstein

17. B. Water Quality • Quality of water for human uses • Quality of water in the environment • Water quality sustainability

18. Nitrate Load Carried by Major Rivers

19. Impaired Waters (U.S. EPA, 2002)

20. C. Human Uses and Health • Withdrawal and use of water • Human uses of water in the environment • Water-dependent resource use • Human health

21. Trends in Total US Water Withdrawals, 1950-2000

22. Public Participation in Freshwater Recreation

23. Reported Incidence of Waterborne Disease

24. D. Environmental Health • Indices of biological condition • Amounts and quality of living resources

25. Environmental Conditions Overall national and regional coastal condition between 1997 and 2000 Source: U.S. EPA, December 2004. National Coastal Condition Report II. Office of Research and Development/Office of Water. EPA-620/R-03/002.

26. E. Infrastructure and Institutions • Capacity and reliability of infrastructure • Efficacy of institutions

27. Population Lacking Complete Plumbing Source: Rural Community Assistance Partnership 2004

28. Some Key SWRR Tasks • Continue to refine the indicators • Continue to consult with other indicator initiatives and find ways to make sure are efforts are complimentary and not duplicative • Target sectors which have not had a lot of input • Address scalability of indicators to local, regional, national, international levels.