U.S. Virgin islands department of planning and natural resourcestitle: quality assurance and water resource assessment in support of the U.S. Virgin islands department of planning and natural…

The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) was awarded a $156,509 Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Use and Data Research (WUDR) Program (CFDA 15.981) to conduct a comprehensive assessment of water resources in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The project will support the first stage of developing a public database of water usage by collecting data on wells, desalination plants, and ponds across all islands of the USVI. This includes establishing a spatial database of water infrastructure and monitoring aquifer patterns to better understand water use and recharge. The project will deliver a status report every six months, provide the USGS full access to the data, and produce a final technical report documenting the work. The goal is to establish a baseline understanding of water use in the USVI, which will benefit DPNR, water users, and the broader water data community.

U.S. Virgin islands department of planning and natural resourcestitle: quality assurance and water resource assessment in support of the U.S. Virgin islands department of planning and natural resources water data use programproject period 9 1 2024 through 8 31 2026THE U.S. Virgin islands (usvi) department of planning and natural resources (dpnr) is a current provider of water use information to the public including the U.S. Geological survey (USGS). This project is to support the first stage of developing a comprehensive and public database of water usage by conducting an initial assessment of water resources in the usvi and an inventory of the different types of users. During this project the dpnr will collect data from all the islands of the usvi (ST. Thomas, ST. John, water island and ST. Croix) that will define an initial understanding of water use for wells, desalination plants and ponds. Collected data will also provide a better understanding of the water sold to the public and water trucks, and a first ever understanding of cistern dynamics and water use for the usvi. Additionally, the project will create a spatial database of desalination plants, wells, and ponds in the usvi and identify users of those water resources. Finally, the project will include some baseline monitoring of the aquifer during the duration of the two-year project, which will help understand patterns of water use and recharge. As part of the project, U.S. Virgin islands dpnr will: (1) deliver a project status report every six months of work (2) allow the USGS full access to all data produced during the project (3) create a spatial database of available water resources including desalination plants, wells, and ponds and (4) produce a final technical report documenting all work accomplished during the project. The project addresses the following water use data categories: public supply (USGS tier levels 1 and 2), irrigation crop (USGS tier 1), and self-supplied domestic (USGS tier levels 1 and 2). More than increasing tier levels, the project will produce a baseline understanding of water use and sets the stage for further improvement. The beneficiaries of the work will be the U.S. Virgin islands dpnr, water users within the U.S. Virgin islands, and the overall water use data community.