WERI's Mandates
Water Resources Research Act of 1964
The National Institutes for Water Resources Research are explicitly charged to 1) arrange for competent research that addresses water problems or expands understanding of water and water-related phenomena, 2) aid the entry of new research scientists into the water resources fields, 3) help train future water scientists and engineers, and 4) get results of sponsored research to water managers and the public.
Pacific ENSO Application Center
As Guam Partner in the Pacific ENSO (El Nino/Southern Oscillation) Application Center, WERI provides: 1) information on the effects of ENSO to regional water resources and disaster managers 2) outreach and educational activities 3) long-range forecasts of rainfall, typhoons, and sea levels, and 4) monthly coordination with NCEP (National Center for Environmental Prediction) on climate hazards.
Public Law 24-161, 1998
Drought Management and Comprehensive Water Conservation Plan, requires that WERI: 1) conduct and administer a Comprehensive Monitoring Program to collect data and prepare reports on saltwater intrusion, water lens thickness in the northern part of Guam, stream flow data in the southern part of Guam, and related matters and 2) said program shall be administered in conjunction with the United States Geological Survey
Public Law 24-247, 1998
The Guam Hydrological Survey mandate, requires that WERI: 1) locate, inventory and evaluate all hydrologic data pertaining to Guam and consolidate the data into a single computer-based data library from which information can be easily accessed and retrieved; 2) establish a direct working relationship with each organization collecting hydrologic data important to Guam, and maintain a permanent flow of new data from each organization to keep the data library up to date; and 3) conduct analyses to assess the status of Guam’s water resources, and publish annual and other regular concise reports on water use, trends and key concerns for use by the governor, legislature, public agencies and private businesses, and citizens of Guam.
WERI Mission
Trustworthy and timely scientific research, instruction, and advice to support sustainable development and effective management of the freshwater resources of Micronesia.
Research, Training, Education and Outreach Programs
Principles
1. Start from mission and mandates
2. Consider community advice and needs
3. Consider how best to leverage resources with internal collaboration
4. Teamwork rather than internal competition
5. Stay within bounds of the doable
Proposed New Items for 2021
1. Online Aquifer Tour
2. April Island Water Resources Online Conference (led by UH WRRI)
3. Water Kids Online
4. WERI Professional Workshops
5. WERI Scientific Advisory Papers
Guam Activities
FSM Activities
CNMI Activities
I. Baseline
- Rainfall database (Lander)
- Baseline for Saipan, Rota (Yeo/Pangelinan) NEW PROJECT
II. Water quality
- Storm water and flooding (Yeo) New project
- PFOS monitoring in Saipan production wells (Kim) 2020 continuing
III. Water Resource Management
- Baseline/Core Products
- CNMI Water-Use Database: Water-use data compilation and research
Regional Research and Outreach Activities
ENSO – PEAC (Lander)
- ENSO Newsletter
- Conference/workshop presentations
Basic Research (of interest to region and beyond)
- Karst Aquifer Evolution (Jenson, NSF collaboration with Gulley, USF)
- Water & air sampling in new and existing wells
- Dovetail with new well installation projects (MSERP)
- Guam/West Pacific Paleoclimate (Jenson, unfunded collaboration with UT-A, CalTech)
- Maintain Jinapsan Cave database (2008-2016 records), UT collaboration
- Speleothem analyses for Bomb Tritium and past 1500 years paleoclimate
Prospective opportunities or topics for new initiatives
- 104g proposal (with PIWSC) to leverage GHS for collaborative program
- Sea Grant proposal—application of NASA technologies (leverage coastal discharge project)
- PICSAC proposals—climate-related studies
- Collaboration with BYU Civil Engineering modeling team/AquaVeo
[1] Per director of USGS Pacific Islands Water Science Center, USGS may have $26k to fund preparation of a 4-page proposal, with up to $200k subsequently available to launch a permanent research program in water use for CNMI.