More than two dozen United States Geological Service (USGS) centers that monitor the country’s waters for flooding and drought, as well as manage water supply levels to make sure communities don’t run out, have had their leases terminated by the Trump administration.
The 25 centers being targeted are part of a network that tracks the quality and levels of surface and ground water, reported The Guardian. The data the centers’ employees and equipment provide plays a crucial role in protecting human life and property while maintaining water supplies and helping to clean up oil and chemical spills.
In the aftermath of a chemical or oil spill, USGS data tracks plumes with real-time monitoring in some locations to protect drinking water, Inside Climate News reported.
“These [centers] are just super, super important, and there’s no rhyme or reason, no thought at all given to canceling these leases,” said Kyla Bennett, a scientist and attorney who is the science policy director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. “They’re doing it because it’s convenient, because these particular centers happen to be up for renewal.”
No plan to fill the gaps left by the closed USGS centers has been indicated by the administration.
“It’s not being done with any thought about human life, it was just ‘this seems so woke so let’s get rid of it,’” Bennett said, as reported by The Guardian. “People think water is free and comes out of your tap whenever you want, but it’s not that simple.”
The General Services Administration ordered cancellation of the leases, according to an employee of one of the water centers who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. The employee was informed of the closure by their landlord.
Centers across the country will begin closing within four months.
“Nobody knows what happens if we’re not doing [monitoring for drought conditions],” the employee said.
One of the most important functions provided by the centers is the part they play in flood warnings throughout the U.S. USGS monitors river levels and shares its data with the National Weather Service. The weather service then determines if precipitation levels from a coming storm added to the river’s water levels will bring about flooding or overflow a dam.
“We’re doing everything we can to make the argument that we need these facilities to complete our mission,” the employee stated, adding that it was hard for the groups to fight back.
One of the centers slated for closure is the one in Charlotte, North Carolina, that managed the aftereffects of the deadly flooding from Hurricane Helene in Asheville late last year.
The centers are also responsible for measuring water levels of aquifers to make sure industry and utilities are not overdrawing them. Without this service, communities could run out of water. The data from USGS monitoring systems informs the water conservation requirements and drought declarations of states, which trigger withdrawal limits.
“Information on the flow of rivers is a vital national asset that safeguards lives, protects property, and ensures adequate water supplies for the future. The USGS is the federal agency responsible for operating a network of about 7,000 streamgages nationwide,” USGS said on its website. “Data from this network are used by water managers, emergency responders, utilities, environmental agencies, universities, consulting firms, and recreation enthusiasts.”
One of the centers that will close when its lease runs out is in Moab, Utah. Currently 77 percent of the state is under drought conditions, and the center measures its water resources, including snowpack, which provides 95 percent of the state’s water, Inside Climate News reported.
The data is “absolutely foundational to our understanding of the current and past hydrology,” of the state, said Candice Hasenyager, Utah Division of Water Resources director, and shapes its long-term water planning.
“We don’t really know how they would manage it if that office was closed,” Hasenyager said. “We’re very concerned about being able to manage our water resources within the state of Utah” without USGS assistance, as well as that of other targeted federal programs.
Data from the centers is also used to manage pollution discharge permits and safeguard the quality of drinking water. Bennett pointed out that, when there are drought conditions, streams are prone to drying up and discharges must be stopped; otherwise, industrial discharge could completely inundate small streams.
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” said Blake Bingham, deputy state engineer of the Utah Division of Water Rights.
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