The Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
originally established the Water Information Coordination
Program (WICP) in the 1960's. In 1991 OMB updated the authority
and established the Water Information Coordination Program
by issuing Memorandum No. 92-01. The overall
purpose of the program is to improve water information for
decision making about natural resources management and environmental
protection. The memorandum designates the Department of the
Interior, through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as the
lead agency. Other Federal organizations that fund, collect,
or use water resources information work together with the
USGS to implement program recommendations.
Federal activities and funding for water resources information are
integrally tied to partnerships with non-Federal entities. Therefore,
the Secretary of the Interior established an advisory committee under
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to help implement
the program at the national level. The purposes of the Advisory Committee
on Water Information (ACWI) are to identify water information needs,
evaluate their effectiveness of water information programs and recommend
improvements. The member organizations represent all levels of government,
tribal interests, and the private sector. The Chair of the ACWI is
Interior's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science. The
Alternate Chair is Dr. Matthew C. Larsen, the Associate Director
for Water of the USGS.
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Photograph by Dennis Wentz,USGS |
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OMB
Memorandum No. 92-01
ACWI Charter
National Handbook of Recommended
Methods for Water Data Acquisition -- Chapter 11 - Water Use
Conceptual Frameworks for Ground-Water Quality Monitoring
WICP Additional Links
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