NPS: Nature & Science » Water Resources

Hydrology & Watershed Management

Delware Water Gap National Recrea Area (Photo: Jackie Katzmire)

The Hydrology and Watershed Management Program is one of three programs administered by the Water Operations Branch (WOB) of the Water Resources Division. In addition, hydrologic assessment and monitoring conducted in support of NPS water rights protection issues is administered by the Division’s Water Rights Branch. The WOB Hydrology and Watershed Management Program administers servicewide programs in the areas of watershed condition assessment, surface water hydrology, floodplain management and compliance, ground water use and protection, and stream and riparian management.

The WOB Hydrology and Floodplain Management Program provides technical assistance to parks in the following areas:

• Surface water hydrologic and hydraulic modeling and assessment
• Floodplain management, policy, and compliance
• Ground water resource analysis, protection and development
• Fluvial geomorphic assessment and sediment transport
• Watershed, stream, and riparian area condition analysis and management
• Environmental assessment and compliance

The WOB Hydrology and Watershed Management Program is designed to support headquarters, region, Denver Service Center, and park-based managers and resource professionals by: providing national consistency in water related programs; providing specialized analytical or technology support to field-based professionals; assuming responsibility for special studies requiring specialized technical skills or dealing with significant issues of multi-park, regional, or national scope; and assisting in integrating principles of good science with complex policy issues.

Beginning in FY03, the Hydrology and Watershed Management Program assumed responsibility for designing and administering a new servicewide program to assess the conditions of watershed in parks including uplands, wetlands, streams and riparian resources. Development of a major review and analysis of existing methods used to assess the ecological conditions of watersheds at multiple scales was initiated during the program’s first year.