July 22, 2005                                                                                                                         Position No. 267

The Honorable Gale Norton 

U.S. Department of Interior

Interior Building, MS 7229

1849 C Street, NW

Washington, D.C. 20240

Dear Secretary Norton:

             On behalf of the Western States Water Council, I am writing to urge you to request $74 million in FY 2007 funding for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Cooperative Water Program. This would merely restore the program’s real purchasing power to its FY 2003 level and reverse the slow erosion in spending that is robbing us of streamgages and data that is vital for the sound management of our western water resources. The FY 2006 appropriation of $63,770,000 (requested by the President and approved by the House and Senate) is not sufficient to reverse the continuing decline in real federal spending due to unfunded or only partially funded federal salary and other cost increases.

             Our members are critical partners in the Cooperative Program, and we believe this should be the highest USGS funding priority related to water. However, the failure of the Administration and the Congress to match state contributions on a 50%-50% basis – with flat or nearly flat federal spending in the face of continually rising federal costs – has shifted the financial burden for maintaining the national streamgaging system to the states. In FY 2004, our member states provided $51.57 million, while matching federal appropriations totaled only $30.94 million – $20.62 million short. We cannot continue to bear this increasing financial burden, which threatens this long-time partnership.

             With the number of streamgages declining and the need for streamflow data increasing, human life, our quality of life, our security, and our property are at considerably greater risk. Myriad federal, state, tribal, and local government agencies, as well as private entities and individuals, use this data to manage flooding and drought, as well as predict future water supplies for our agricultural, municipal and industrial needs, plus energy/hydropower, recreation and environmental uses (including protecting endangered species). However, federal funding has been allowed to erode to the point that it threatens the availability, quantity, quality and timeliness of basic data.

             Recognizing the Nation’s fiscal challenges, we ask only that recent spending cuts be reversed, and not that state monies be fully matched at this time. However, with record low snowpacks in the Northwest, record high precipitation in the Southwest, continuing drought in some areas and other areas experiencing flooding, timely and accurate streamflow information for sound water resources management has never been more important.

Sincerely,

Hal Simpson, Chairman

Western States Water Council

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