Folks,
The New York City DEP has decided to stop cooperative funding for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to monitor data collection from 213 groundwater stations, 10 surface-water stations, 1 meteorological station, and 133 water-quality stations.
Why? We want to know why? Are they going to stop monitoring? Are they contracting out to one of their friendly private companies?
The discontinued program was funded by New York City Department of Environmental Protection and the USGS through the Cooperative Water Program. This funding provided the resources necessary for operation of the USGS hydrologic-monitoring network in the City, which provides the information needed to monitor regional environmental conditions and undertake many types of scientific research. Please alert your Federal, State, and local representatives about how USGS data is being used, and what a loss in data collection would mean. The usefulness and necessity of this data is apparent.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The USGS is a fact-finding research organization with no regulatory responsibility.
Created by an act of Congress in 1879, the USGS has evolved over the ensuing 125 years, matching its talent and knowledge to the progress of science and technology. Today, the USGS stands as the sole science agency for the Department of the Interior. It is sought out by thousands of partners and customers for its natural science expertise and its vast earth and biological data holdings. The USGS is the science provider of choice in accessing the information and understanding to help resolve complex natural resource problems across the Nation and around the world.
This notice was posted on the USGS webpage: http://ny.water.usgs.gov/ See the “Gages Remain Unfunded” section towards the middle of the page for the most recent information. It is posted below (as of April 21, 2013), but go to the page so you can see what we are going to miss.
NOTICE (04/09/2013) — Funding dropped for USGS monitoring network in the five boroughs of New York City.
Data collection from 213 groundwater stations, 10 surface-water stations, 1 meteorological station, and 133 water-quality stations in the five boroughs of New York and extreme western Nassau County will be suspended at the end of the month (May 1, 2013) due to elimination of the program by a funding partner. Historic data from these stations will continue to be available on the USGS National Water Information System: Web Interface. A complete list of stations to be discontinued is available at: real-time water data page or map.
