Aquatic processes and systems in perspective.

This latest Perspective on Aquatic Processes focuses on a topic of great value but one that receives little attention—that of the need for water quality monitoring. Research often gets more attention from the public and from funding agencies, but it is monitoring—particularly long term programs—that provide the necessary data to determine trends in assessing ecosystem health. Monitoring programs have been receiving less and less support (and collecting fewer and fewer data), including those of the venerable U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which has had water monitoring as central to its mission for 130 years. It is possible that there will not be sufficient data available to assess overall environmental quality trends in the near future. We cannot effectively manage or protect our environment without understanding its condition. Without the proper water monitoring data, we cannot develop models for management or forecasting. This Perspective is contributed by Dr Robert Hirsch and his colleagues at the USGS, and makes a strong case for the need for monitoring and discusses the erosion in support of these programs. Robert M. Hirsch, PhD, has served as Associate Director for Water at the USGS since 1999, and is responsible for all USGS water science programs. He has served as the leader of USGS water programs since 1994. He represents the interests of the USGS in scientific, technical, and leadership aspects of hydrology and serves as the Director’s principal advisor on water-related issues. In his capacity as spokesperson for the USGS and its water resources mission, Hirsch holds the title of Chief Hydrologist. He is Co-Chair of the inter-agency Subcommittee on Water Availability and Quality (SWAQ) of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). Dr Hirsch is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and an active member of the American Geophysical Union and the American Water Resources Association. Pixie A. Hamilton began her career as a hydrologist with the USGS in 1984 and served as the Water Science Director of USGS water programs in Virginia from 1994–1996. Since then she has served as a hydrologist and water information coordinator for USGS’s National WaterQuality Assessment (NAWQA) program. Timothy L. Miller has worked for the USGS since 1973, and has been the Senior Advisor for Water Quality since 1997. Prior to coming to USGS Headquarters in 1987, Mr Miller worked for USGS in his native Oregon. He now serves as the Chief of the USGS Office of Water Quality. He served as Chief of the NAWQA program from 1995 to 2003. The NAWQA program have been collecting and analyzing data and information in more than 50 major river basins and aquifers across the US since 1991. The goal is to develop long-term consistent and comparable information on streams, ground water, and aquatic ecosystems to support sound management and policy decisions.