Indicators by Water Sustainability Goals

This is a biological index, composed of indicators & metrics representing the condition of the benthic invertebrate communities living in streams and rivers. The presence and abundance of aquatic plants and animals can provide an indication of waterway and landscape disturbance, geomorphic conditions, appropriate water availability, and water quality. Comparing the measured presence (observed) of native species or groups to the expected presence of these species or groups is one way of measuring watershed and waterway conditions.

Threatened amphibians measures the percentage of amphibian species classified by IUCN as threatened. The World Resources Institute used this indicator in the Aqueduct 2.0 project.

Trophic state index is a measure of how eutrophic conditions are in a water-body. Excess algal growth can indicate eutrophic conditions and is the basis of the index.

Ecosystems and species at serious risk from unnatural fire regimes. In California, suppression of fires has lead to long intervals between fires, which can affect natural processes. These processes can recover once fire regimes are restored.

Upstream protected land measures the percentage of total water supply that originates from protected ecosystems. Modified land use can affect the health of freshwater ecosystems and have severe downstream impacts on both water quality and quantity. The World Resources Institute used this indicator in the Aqueduct 2.0 project.

Increase measurable benefit in in-stream flows from water recycling and conservation. Re-using and conserving water has the desired outcome of directly benefiting aquatic ecosystems.

Increase measurable benefit in in-stream flows from water recycling and conservation. Re-using and conserving water has the desired outcome of directly benefiting aquatic ecosystems.

Water scarcity is a function of water availability and water use. This index is used by the global Environmental Protection Index and represents the over-use of water in a region.

Water stress index is typically defined as the relationship between total water use and water availability. The closer water use is to water supply, the more likely stress will occur in natural and human systems. This indicator has been used by the United Nations and others.

Artificial alteration of channel sides and/or bottom. Artificially armoring banks, lining channels with concrete, and fixing channels in place can all affect both aquatic and riparian/floodplain ecosystems.

The maximum flood that can be experienced without exceeding some amount (e.g., $10 million) in damages. Resilience will increase with improved flows access to floodplains and removal of infrastructure from floodplains.

Expected annualized damage for flood risk. The projected cost of repair and replacement can be modeled for different flooding scenarios.

Proportion of floodplain that is protected from development that is incompatible with flooding. Conserving and restoring floodplains can have profound effects on the risk and effects of flooding.

Extent of floodplain restoration and connection between channel and floodplain. Both the absolute amount of protection and restoration and the proportion of the historic area are informative.

Flow pattern variability / alteration (both important seasonally and annually). Ecosystems depend on natural flow patterns and variability. High flows are needed to move sediment and re-work riparian and floodplain areas.

Flood occurrence is the number of floods recorded from 1985 to 2011. The indicator was used by the World Resources Institute in the Aqueduct 2.0 project.

Cumulative hydrostatic force on levees and other flood-control structures. This is a measure of the calculated force that rivers in flood put on segments of levee, which can highlight areas vulnerable to failure under certain flood conditions.

Proportion of watershed covered by impenetrable materials such as roads, parking lots, and buildings preventing water from leaching directly into the soil. The greater the proportion of watershed with impervious surfaces, the greater the likelihood of geomorphic processes and conditions being degraded due primarily to modifications of stormwater runoff dynamics.

Building standard and cost of maintaining levees/assessed value of the land use they protect. This ratio of benefit to cost helps us understand levees are the most important in a system.

Frequency of levee breaks in the region. The frequency of levee weakening and breaking is informative about the power in the channel in particular locations.

Levee system integrity index (stability, risk prevention, maintenance). This combination of indicators can help prioritize particular stretches of levee for action.

Magnitude and timing of managed system flows suitable for native riparian habitats and geomorphic processes. Healthy aquatic, riparian, and floodplain ecosystems require periodic high flow events, not just minimum flows.

Stream bank stability. Stream banks may become less stable due to watershed disturbance, or more stable with reductions in flow and armoring.

Supports adaptation and resilience to climate change. The key to effective management is changing strategies and actions in response to new information and changing conditions.

Collaboration between scientists and policy makers to understand data and communication needs. Acting together, scientists and policy amkers are more likely to develop decisions that reflect the best information AND the desires and needs of society.

Communication of uncertainty, which can come from natural variation, measurement error, and incomplete knowledge of how systems function. It is important for scientists and analysts to communicate this uncertainty so that it becomes useful information in management decision-making and policy formulation.

Data sharing and distribution. When systems are created to facilitate data distribution, they are more likely to be understood and management is more likely to be based upon these data.

Equitable decision-making process for water management, diversity of participating organizations. A key component to equity and environmental justice is equitable access by all parties to decision-making.

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) uses a satellite-based method to estimate fluctuations in groundwater in the Earth’s surface. By subtracting the water subcomponents soil moisture, snow-water-equivalent, and surface reservoir storage, the residual GRACE signal can be interpreted to represent basin-wide groundwater changes.

Participation rates in local stewardship by the local stakeholders such as municipalities, indigenous people, irrigation districts, community organizations, watershed associations, conservation groups, and stewardship groups.

The Plant Growth Index (PGI) is a measure of long-term changes in plant community condition, based on satellite measurement of the peak annual Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. You can click on "Map Layers" items to the right of the map view to display them in the map. It is possible to turn on more than one map at a time. See more detail below the map view.

Public awareness and perceptions of the role water plays in their lives and in the environment can affect how people vote to support candidates, taxes/assessments, and bond issues. It is both important to keep the public informed to support democracy and to track their knowledge and perceptions in order to develop policies and management actions.

Process/data needs of local jurisdictions and geographies. Participation of local government entities in measuring conditions and performance may contribute to better decision-making.

Standardized methods for data collection and reporting and minimize collection biases. This approach is more likely to facilitate data and knowledge sharing, which is critical to manage complex human activities in response to similarly-complex natural systems.

Proportion of streams monitored periodically for streamflow, temperature, fisheries, stability. High rates of monitoring by public agency, or private organization programs suggest a high level of care and support for stewardship.

Level of support or opposition for environmental measures, such as statewide bonds and local environmental regulation (% of population).

Annual withdrawal of ground and surface water as a percent of total annually renewable volume of freshwater.

The water footprint is the sum of the water used directly or indirectly to produce goods and services consumed by humanity. Agricultural production accounts for most of global water use, but drinking, manufacturing, cooking, recreation, washing, cleaning, landscaping, cooling, and processing all contribute to water use.

Flow chart of process from data need, collection, analysis, decision-making, implementation, and results.