The western states water council, whose members include 17 western states and alaska, will continue developing western water rights and aggregate water use data access and analysis tool (westdaat),…

The Western States Water Council (WSWC) was awarded a $786,181 Project Grant from the Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation under the Applied Science Grants program to continue development of the Western Water Rights and Aggregate Water Use Data Access and Analysis Tool (WestDAAT). WestDAAT aggregates water rights and use data from WSWC's 17 western state members and Alaska to enable consistent access and analysis in support of water resources planning and management. Under this award, WSWC will move WestDAAT from prototype to full functionality and work closely with Reclamation to coordinate and enhance its existing water rights database. Making this hydrologic data easily available through WestDAAT is expected to improve drought management, water rights administration, recognition of federal water reservations, conservation efforts, and initiatives to protect watersheds, fish and wildlife habitat, and aquatic species. The project period runs from May 25, 2022 to June 30, 2024.

The western states water council, whose members include 17 western states and alaska, will continue developing western water rights and aggregate water use data access and analysis tool (westdaat), moving IT from prototype to full functionality. Westdaat will enable users to obtain consistent water rights data within its member states to support water resources planning and management. The westdaat team will also work closely with reclamation to coordinate and enhance its existing water rights database. Making water rights and aggregate water use information easily available will lead to more innovative applications that stretch scarce water supplies, improve drought management, facilitate state water rights administration, raise recognition of federal water right reservations, promote conservation and water marketing, highlight conjunctive ground and surface water use opportunities, and focus initiatives for watersheds, fish and wildlife habitat, and endangered aquatic species protection.