Approved by the Energy, Environment, and Water Policy Committee on March 21, 2025 
Approved by the Public Policy and Practice Committee on May 21, 2025
Adopted by the Board of Direction on July 10, 2025

Policy

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) supports and encourages:

  • Federal, state, and local governments’ continuation of long-term hydrologic data collection and expansion of such efforts for major and minor watersheds.
  • Funding to be provided on a continuing basis sufficient to allow prediction of changing storm patterns, major flood events, sediment transport and the interaction of water and soil through river systems.
  • The adoption of modern data collection methods, such as remote sensing, internet-based monitoring systems, and real-time data analytics, to improve the accuracy and timeliness of hydrologic data.
  • The development of centralized platforms that facilitate the sharing of hydrologic data among federal, state, and local agencies, as well as with the public, to enhance collaborative water resource management.
  • Updating data collection protocols to account for changing climate patterns, ensuring that hydrologic models remain accurate under evolving environmental conditions.
  • Development of initiatives to educate decision makers and communities about the importance of hydrologic data and involving them in data collection efforts, fostering a sense of stewardship, and enhancing data quality.
  • Establishment of a framework for periodic review and updating of hydrologic data collection policies to incorporate technological advancements and emerging challenges in water resources management.

Issue

Hydrologic data measurements of precipitation, streamflow, groundwater, and evapotranspiration are vitally important to water resource planning, regional sediment management for reservoirs and navigable waterways, and flood-risk management, as well as the design and operation of most infrastructure projects. Such data are critical for performing risk assessment and economic analysis properly, and for evaluating the impact of infrastructure projects on public health, welfare, safety, and the environment. Reliable historical data are essential for the modeling necessary to make accurate predictions. Most importantly, because these data must be collected on a regional basis, this is inherently a federal responsibility. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have comprehensive and continuous historical hydrologic data. This has been supplemented by additional data from state and local agencies and the private sector. Given the recent changes to storm events in intensity and duration it is imperative to maintain continuous data records in order to track the historic trends. Inadequate and uncoordinated hydrologic data collection, resulting from budget shortages or redirection of resources, has long term adverse effects on the efficiency and certainty of project planning, design, construction, operation, and decommissioning resulting in an unnecessary and significant risk to public safety.

The lack of adequate data impacts the ability to model, predict and plan for catastrophic events. Events such as floods and droughts have significant impacts on public health, safety, welfare, and our nation's economy.

Rationale

Hydrological data are essential for flood control, drainage project design, water supply navigation, development projects, integrated watershed management, floodplain management, regional sediment management, and more. This helps inform decision makers regulators at federal, state, and local levels for updating and maintaining guidance documents and regulations for planning, design, construction, operations, and maintenance. Collection, analysis, and dissemination of continuous hydrologic data are critical for effective modeling, forecasting, and all types of water resource management.

ASCE Policy Statement 447 
First Approved 1996