Duration: 10/01/2024 to 09/30/2029

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Sufficient clean water supplies are vital for economic prosperity and ecosystem function across the western United States. Climate change is increasing average temperatures, water supply variability, and the frequency of long-term drought in the western U.S., exacerbating water scarcity. In its recent Action Plan for Climate Adaptation and Resilience, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) identified threats to water quantity and quality as a major vulnerability and called for increased support for science and broader outreach and education efforts.  Our goals are to 1) form multidisciplinary water teams to support collaborative, proactive, science-based decision-making that reconcile dynamic human and natural systems and address complex water issues in the West, and 2) support the Western Water Network (WWN) through improved operational support and organizational continuity. The target audiences will be researchers, educators, water professionals, and policy makers. For the first goal, activities will share existing and proposed research in efforts that improve coordination through the co-development of research, extension, and educational programming to address complex western water issues. Activities for the first goal will lead to advances in understanding of water issues that are important for the public, stakeholders, producers, and decision-makers. For the second goal, activities will develop a governance structure and investigate different long-term funding mechanisms for the Western Water Network. 

Statement of Issues and Justification

Water is the foundation of thriving agriculture and resiient forests in the western U.S. Climate change and competing uses are altering patterns of water availability in the West (Schewe et al., 2014). Increased frequency and intensity of drought, including regions where drought has been uncommon in the past, combined with rapid population growth is already causing shortages in water supply and increasing conflict (Schaible and Aillery, 2012). In the face of such challenges, success stories from water-smart communities stand out, such as traditionally irrigated agriculture resilience in New Mexico (Benson et al., 2018), water marketing to extend water availability throughout the West (Schwabe et al., 2020), and multiuser coordination between agricultural, tribal, and fishery water users in Washington (Zaferatos, 2007). In these and other examples, stakeholders and researchers have worked to co-produce cutting edge science to support policy change, build strong communities, and increase agricultural productivity (Warziniak et al., 2023). Sustaining western agriculture, forests, and vibrant communities requires connections between water users, researchers, and varied stakeholders and decision makers. This proposal is responsive to USDA’s call and aims to engage a diverse representation of stakeholders in water resources who are faced with these complex challenges, often without an existing road map in hand.

 

Objectives

Procedures and Activities

This WERA will hold annual in-person meetings with hybrid options. Regular (bi-monthly) remote meetings will be held to work towards the objectives and plan the annual meeting. This approach enables participants to meet in person to improve the interpersonal and professional connectivity of the WERA and WWN while also supporting progress towards the following objectives:

For Objective 1, traditional WERA activity:

Share existing and propose new research in an effort to coordinate and co-develop extension and educational programming about research developed via this proposal, and other important water resources issues for consumption by the public, stakeholders, producers, and decision-makers. Programming will be relevant for a multistate audience.

Milestone: by 2026, this group will write a USDA SAS or similar scope proposal 

Milestone: by 2027, this group will organize a follow-on conference to the Water Congress held in 2023

Procedure: Annual accomplishment report (due 60 days after official annual meeting)

For Objective 2, WWN operations and governance:

Assist with development of a governance structure and investigate different long-term funding mechanisms. The WERA will support the WWN by helping WWN develop bylaws, identify funding mechanisms, and investigate possible governance structures.

Milestone: by 2028 offer recommendations to the WWN regarding how to function for the future. 

Expected Outcomes and Impacts

Projected Participation

View Appendix E: Participation

Educational Plan

Many water issues and phenomena are common across western states, whether they are specific to a local community, watershed, and water system, or span many communities in river basins covering multiple states and political boundaries. In contrast, university faculty providing education, extension, outreach, and service on these topics tend to have assignments and targeted activities at the local, state, or university level with limited interaction and collaboration on common issues, communities of practice, and communities of service. Furthermore, Extension water resource positions and programming are non-traditional and lower in number and capacity than traditional Extension agriculture and 4-H positions, causing their program development and delivery to depend heavily on peer networks internal and external to the university.

The WERA will serve as a hub for connecting, co-learning, inspiring innovation, and supporting collaborative, multistate teams delivering water educational programming to the public and relevant stakeholders. The plan for becoming the “go-to network” indicated in Output 7 will include the following activities over the next five years.

1. Build on the current membership by inviting peers to join the education team within WWN to help develop the “go-to network”. Members will include extension, educators providing credit and non-credit (professional/workforce development) programs, and natural resource peers providing training and education programs to address prioritized water issues. While the majority of members will be from universities, members will target invitations to peers from Tribal colleges, community colleges, resource agencies, and other government and non-profit organizations providing similar services to help address diverse water issues. (Year 1 and on-going recruitment around issues and project teams. )


2. DEI focus - WWN acknowledges that historically diverse voices have been ignored in water management conversations. In response to the historical and current under-representation of tribes and other marginalized populations in water management, WWN will seek diverse membership in the education teams and integrate themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout education program development and publication of outputs. (On-going)


3. Use the UCOWR-WRRI-AWRA 2024 conference to recruit members to present their current programs and share how they could be expanded to other states, watersheds, and/or communities. Host an informal meet-and-greet of existing and potential members at the 2024 conference and provide an overview of WERA plans as they relate to education. (Pre-10/2024)


4. Hold meet-ups to create connections, share information, and build a database of members with contact information, expertise, highlights of current water programs, interests, and target audiences.


5. Use the UCOWR 2025 conference as an initial opportunity for members to present programs and propose expansion to other states and communities. A WWN sponsored education team meeting will be held in conjunction with the conference to synthesize conference outcomes, database information gathered to date, and plan for a WWN western region retreat.


6. Hold a WWN education team retreat in spring, 2026 to create a framework of western region prioritized issues, objectives, and topical teams that build upon the database, conference outcomes, and other relationships.


7. The WWN education team transitions in fall 2026 – spring 2027 to a network of topical teams that work together on common issues and programs. The education team develops a leadership structure and culture of collaborative work and support that identifies funding opportunities to further both the organizational structure and team projects on an on-going basis.


8. The education team will work within the WWN to provide opportunities for university and peer educators to meet in person at the annual UCOWR conferences and on a bi-annual basis in the region for formal project sharing, development, and collaboration that doesn’t currently exist in the western region. Meet-ups on other distance communication methods will be used to maintain momentum of the network and support project teams.


9. Some educational programming can serve both purposes of meeting credit needs, within formal undergraduate courses/programs, and for non-credit, professional development and certification programs that enhance workforce development related to water security in the Western U.S. Distance and hybrid online/in-person education programs will be the priority for exploring these expansion opportunities.

Organization/Governance

This WERA will use the standard governance structure for multistate committees for this activity (e.g. chair, Chair elect, and secretary).

Literature Cited

Benson, M.H., R.R. Morrison, D. Llewellyn, and M. Stone. (2018). Governing the Rio Grande: Challenges and opportunities for New Mexico’s water supply. Practical Panarchy for Adaptive Water Governance: Linking Law to Social-Ecological Resilience: 99–114. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72472-0_7. 

Ekins, J.P. (2020). Community Learning in Social Resilience. Dissertation. 105 pages. University of Idaho, Moscow, ID. https://search-proquest-com.uidaho.idm.oclc.org/pqdtglobal/docview/2428115714/3C62188BE79D496DPQ/1?accountid=14551

Pahl-Worstl, C., Craps, M., DeWulf, A., Mostert, E., Tabara, D., & Taillieu, T. (2007). Social learning and water resources management. Ecology and Society, 12(1). http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol12/iss2/art5.

Schaible, G., and M. Aillery. (2012). Water Conservation in Irrigated Agriculture: Trends and Challenges in the Face of Emerging Demands. USDA-ERS Economic Information Bulletin No. 99, available at SSRN, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2186555.

Schewe, J., J. Heinke, D. Gerten, I. Haddeland, N.W. Arnell, et al. (2014). Multimodel assessment of water scarcity under climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(9): 3245–3250. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1222460110.

Schwabe, K., M. Nemati, C. Landry, and G. Zimmerman. (2020). Water Markets in the Western United States: Trends and Opportunities. Water 2020, Vol. 12, Page 233 12(1): 233. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w12010233.

Stone-Jovicich, S. (2015). Probing the interfaces between the social sciences and social-ecological resilience: insights from integrative and hybrid perspectives in the social sciences. Ecology and Society, 20(2), 25. http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-07347-200225.   

Zaferatos, N.C. (2007). Tribal Nations, Local Governments, and Regional Pluralism in Washington State: The Swinomish Approach in the Skagit Valley. Journal of the American Planning Association, 70(1): 81–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01944360408976340.

Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

CA, ID, MS, NM, WA, WY

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

California State University, Colorado State University, Interstate Council on Water Policy , University of Idaho, USDA ARS