Water Use in Idaho Open Forum
July 20, 2017
9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Idaho Water Science Center
230 Collins Road, Boise, ID
Main Conference Room
Overview:
Every five years, the U.S. Geological Survey compiles county-level water use data for every state in the Union. (“Estimated Use of Water in the United States”; http://water.usgs.gov/watuse/50years.html). These county-level compilations are a cooperative effort between state agencies, federal partners, and the USGS to facilitate the collection of reliable and uniform water-use information. Statewide totals for water withdrawals (use) in Idaho have been reported with the rest of the Nation at five-year intervals beginning in 1950.
The Idaho Water Science Center is hosting a forum to present preliminary results from compilation year 2015. The objectives of this meeting are two-fold:
For the USGS to present 2015 results of water use by category—including Public Supply & Domestic, Irrigation, Aquaculture, Thermoelectric, Livestock, Mining, and Industrial—to brief our partners on data availability and its limitations.
To host an open forum to discuss the two categories most important in Idaho: irrigation and public supply; and how we might improve the methodology. What are we missing? Is there a better way?
Our primary goal is to produce better estimates of water use and more collaborative datasets during the compilation process. We would like to collectively identify the data gaps to continue to improve the use estimates in future compilations. We are seeking your expertise and your guidance on the best ways to do this.
Agenda:
9:00 – 9:25 am, Introductions
9:25 – 10:10 am, Overview of Water Use Compilation and 2015 Preliminary Results by Category
10:10 – 10:30 am, Break
10:30 – 11:30 am, Open Forum – Irrigation Water Use, methods and limitations
11:30 – 12:30 am, Open Forum – Public Supply & Domestic Water Use, methods and limitations
This meeting is free to attend, but please register here so that we can prepare for attendance:
Registration Link
For any questions regarding this event, please contact Erin Murray at 208-387-1342 or emmurray@usgs.gov.
