Water Features

We find ourselves – at a personal, organizational, and cultural level – asking ourselves how did we get here? And, where are we going? These are important, shaping questions that I hope we can all pause and ponder for ourselves.

Established in 1994, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (CRK) is a non-governmental and community science organization based out of Atlanta, GA that is dedicated to the protection, preservation, and stewardship of the Chattahoochee River and its watershed. Over the last two and a half decades, the work of CRK, the communities in which they work, and the City of Atlanta have and [...]

The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (Water Authority) of Albuquerque, New Mexico has been expanding its advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) program since 2011. As of 2019, 49% of its 200,000 accounts have been replaced with AMI-enabled meters. The Water Authority harnesses the high-resolution water usage, along with other AMI data, to benefit their [...]

The Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting (SSWSF) program’s data are widely used by agricultural communities, government agencies, private businesses, and recreationists to inform day-to day operations and broad decision-making. We compiled numerous case studies documenting the economic value of the SSWSF program to show the benefit-to-cost ratio for different users. [...]

The National Weather Service is the primary source of public weather data and forecasts used to inform decision-making and mitigate losses from extreme weather. A willingness-to-pay survey and an impact analysis suggest the potential benefit-to-cost ratio is between $3 (includes forecasts from all federal and private agencies) and $15 (assumes most of the underlying data [...]

U.S. Geological Survey stream gage data are used by organizations to better manage floods through reservoir operations and design, flood forecasting, and floodplain management. The estimated benefits of stream gage data for flood-related decisions were assessed using direct surveys and the Business Model Maturity Index method. The value of data varied dramatically depending [...]