Environmental Activities in Corps of Engineers Water Resources Programs: Charting a New Direction

The Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources (CEWRC-IWR) is part of the Water Resources Support Center in Alexandria, VA. It was created in 1969 to analyze and anticipate changing water resources management conditions, and to develop planning methods and analytical tools to address economic, social, institutional and environmental needs in water resources planning and policy. Since its inception, IWR has been a leader in the development of tools and strategies needed to plan and execute Corps water resources planning. IWR's program emphasizes planning concepts for use by Corps field offices. Initially, this work relied heavily on the experience of highly respected planners and theorists, gained in the many river basin and multiple purpose studies undertaken in the 1960's. As these concepts matured and became a routine part of Corps planning, the emphasis shifted to developing improved methods for conducting economic, social, environmental and institutional analyses. These methods were essential to implementation of the Water Resources Council's (WRC) Principles and Standards (P&S) and later, Principles and Guidelines (P&G) for water resources planning, which required a multi-objective analysis of and tradeoffs among national, economic and regional development, environmental quality and social effects. Increasingly over the years, IWR has also responded to Corps program development needs by studying policy issues resulting from changes in national objectives and priorities. In addition to directly supporting Corps needs, IWR has established an analytic and strategic competence through participation in such efforts as the National Hydroelectric Power Resources and National Waterways Studies, the Water Supply and Conservation Research Program, the Social Impact Assessment Program, and as a lead participant in the National Council of Public Works Improvement's investigation of America's water resources infrastructure. Many of these forward-looking policy and strategic studies were accomplished by the Policy and Special Studies Division. The mission of the Division is to support the Director of Civil Works by assessing and evaluating changing national water resources and related public works infrastructure management needs as they affect Corps Civil Works missions, policies, practices, legislative mandates, and executive directives. The Division supports the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works [OASA(CW)] and the Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [HQUSACE] in analyzing current policy issues, and conducting special studies of national and international significance. The Division's work encompasses the following thematic areas: • Policy Studies • Strategic Studies • Special Studies • Environmental Studies For further information related to …