The 2018 Water Leaders class organized by the Water Education Foundation completed its year with a report outlining policy recommendations for improving water management through data.

The class of 22 from various stakeholder groups and backgrounds that hailed from cities and towns across California - including one from Nevada – had full editorial control to choose recommendations.

Among their recommendations:

• Develop standard policy protocols to guide the public distribution of data, relying on existing legal standards and mechanical tools to protect privacy while advancing knowledge.
• Identify and resolve gaps in key data sets relevant to water transfers and integrate those data sets according to the transfer demands of the watershed.
• Enhance local understanding of water demands and water use to gain greater specificity in planning. Investigate automation of irrigation canal measurements. 
• Improve the quantity and quality of water supply data by expanding and standardizing California’s stream gauge data collection and distribution.
• Improve the collection, analysis, distribution and integration of data at the watershed level to improve water management. 
• Streamline data collection and reporting methods statewide to create a clearer understanding of water available for ecosystem needs.
• Modernize statewide environmental water use tracking systems for timely, up-to-date accounting.

Click here to read their full report and executive summary.