Coordinating. Collaborating. Communicating...

Water resources are monitored throughout Indiana by a variety of agencies and organizations, yet it is often difficult to find out what monitoring is being done and what has been learned. Water Monitoring Councils have been successfully developed in various states across the nation to enhance the communication, coordination, and collaboration of professionals and organizations conducting water monitoring.

The need for a water monitoring council in Indiana has been identified and preliminary discussions have begun to lay the foundation for such a council. Functions of water monitoring councils in other states include providing documentation of the varied monitoring activities that are taking place, providing a forum for communication among groups that are monitoring; promoting the use of quality assured procedures, and facilitating the development of collaborative monitoring strategies.

Realizing that such a council is best defined by those actively monitoring water across the state, an ad hoc planning group immediately initiated a process to solicit participation from the broader representative interests of those monitoring water resources in Indiana.   Individuals representing various organizations, industry sectors, and government agencies were invited to a 2-day retreat to discuss the formation of a water monitoring council for Indiana, which occurred on November 29-30th, 2007. 

Complete information, including retreat agenda, notes, summary fact sheet, and planning documentation can be found here (or by clicking the Quick Link).

Forming a Council

From the retreat, there was broad consensus to establish an Interim Planning Team that will serve to:

• Investigate Existing State Council Structures and Bylaws
• Draft a Proposal to Form a Council for Stakeholder Consideration
• Present the Draft Proposal at the Indiana Water Resources Association (IWRA) Spring Meeting (2008)
• Coordinate Initial Activities

• Produce a Communication Strategy
• Compile a digital ‘Rolodex’ of Indiana’s water monitoring community
• Develop a statewide data clearinghouse for water monitoring information

Task Teams

Communications

Structuring Committee

Digital Rolodex

Statewide Clearinghouse

March 10, 2009

10:00 am

Conference Room of
USGS Water Science Ctr