Across the country, the data collected at stream gauges managed by the U.S. Geological Survey are used to implement drought measures when streamflows are low, alert local authorities of floods, help administer water to users on rivers and issue pollution discharge permits required by the Clean Water Act for communities across the country. But more than two dozen USGS Water Science Centers that house the employees and equipment to manage those gauges and equipment will soon have their leases terminated after being targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency. … The Moab (Utah) office operates and monitors more than 30 stream gauges, eight water quality sites, five meteorological sites, two groundwater monitoring sites and one sediment monitoring site. Many of those … send information in real time to federal, tribal, state and local partners about floods and the flows of streams and rivers in the Colorado River Basin.

Other water data news:

• Public Policy Institute of California: Blog: How California partners with the federal government on water and weather forecasts​
• Union of Concerned Scientists: Blog: Ten vital services provided by NOAA (beyond the National Weather Service)