On March 22, NOAA released the Water Resources Dashboard, a one-stop shop to access map layers from data.gov; data observations such as soil moisture and streamflow; and forecasts including quantitative precipitation forecasts and outlooks that can assist water utilities to prepare for extreme precipitation and drought events. The development of the dashboard was a collaborative effort of several associations and organizations, including AMWA working together with NOAA to identify the datasets to include in the dashboard and the layout of the site. The dashboard was also recognized at the White House Water Summit in a document calling out commitments by institutions and organizations toward a sustainable water future.
A series of topical “learning seminars” is being planned to educate interested parties on potential uses of the data highlighted on the dashboard and to provide case studies on water managers’ use NOAA’s data and forecasts in water resources planning. If you are interested in recording a learning seminar to discuss how a particular dataset or forecast provided in the dashboard is used in your utility planning and operations, contact Erica Brown at AMWA’s National Office by April 30, 2016. The learning seminars will be recorded and linked to the corresponding datasets on the dashboard page.