Early December 2021 was the first time in 13 years that at least half of the state of North Carolina was in Severe Drought or worse. A lot has changed in the world of drought monitoring since our last widespread severe drought, especially the data we use and how we visualize and share it. This current drought has made the power of those advancements clear.
PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) are a group of synthetic chemical compounds and emerging contaminants that have been found in water all over the country. North Carolina has had well-publicized concerns with PFAS contamination, which have led to various data collection efforts across multiple organizations. These disparate datasets will be used to guide future regulation and enforcement across the state. But, without greater coordination between the academic and policy communities in North Carolina, these data will remain fragmented, limiting their ability to provide timely and accurate insights about PFAS contamination.
Everyone needs water, but many Americans are struggling to pay the rising costs of water services. The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions’ Water Policy Program has developed a water affordability dashboard that allows users to assess affordability across different water utilities using flexible, self-selected parameters.
Without consistent, standardized, and easily accessible water data, the true state of water resources is not accurately represented. As a result, data users may make faulty assumptions and ill-informed decisions. Poor decisions can be catastrophic, especially as water resources become both increasingly scarce and in high demand. IoW is developing a solution.
Nearly 70 years after Steinbeck wrote East of Eden, his words still ring true. With satellite images showing receding reservoirs contoured with pale bathtub rings of dry earth, drab mountain peaks where white snowpack melted away months ago, and so much smoke, the dry years have again put a terror across California.
What exactly is a water data hub? What should it be? With no roadmap or guidebook to follow, how do you design a hub? What sort of catalyst is needed to really get the ball rolling and build momentum? In Texas, the answer to the last question is steady effort over a number of years followed by a massive hurricane.