(a) EstablishmentThe Secretary, in coordination with the Advisory Committee and State and local water resource agencies, shall establish a national assessment program to be known as the “national water availability and use assessment program”—
(1)
to provide a more accurate assessment of the status of the water resources of the United States;
(b) Program elements
(1) Water useIn carrying out the assessment program, the Secretary shall conduct any appropriate activity to carry out an ongoing assessment of water use in hydrologic accounting units and major aquifer systems located in the United States, including—
(A)
the maintenance of a comprehensive national water use inventory to enhance the level of understanding with respect to the effects of spatial and temporal patterns of water use on the availability and sustainable use of water resources;
(B)
the incorporation of water use science principles, with an emphasis on applied research and statistical estimation techniques in the assessment of water use;
(C)
the integration of any dataset maintained by any other Federal or State agency into the dataset maintained by the Secretary; and
(2) Water availabilityIn carrying out the assessment program, the Secretary shall conduct an ongoing assessment of water availability by—
(A) developing and evaluating nationally consistent indicators that reflect each status and trend relating to the availability of water resources in the United States, including—
(i)
surface water indicators, such as streamflow and surface water storage measures (including lakes, reservoirs, perennial snowfields, and glaciers);
(c) Grant program
(1) Authority of SecretaryThe Secretary may provide grants to State water resource agencies to assist State water resource agencies in—
(A)
developing water use and availability datasets that are integrated with each appropriate dataset developed or maintained by the Secretary; or
(B)
integrating any water use or water availability dataset of the State water resource agency into each appropriate dataset developed or maintained by the Secretary.
(2) CriteriaTo be eligible to receive a grant under paragraph (1), a State water resource agency shall demonstrate to the Secretary that the water use and availability dataset proposed to be established or integrated by the State water resource agency—
(A)
is in compliance with each quality and conformity standard established by the Secretary to ensure that the data will be capable of integration with any national dataset; and
(d) ReportNot later than December 31, 2012, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that provides a detailed assessment of—
(2)
significant trends affecting water availability, including each documented or projected impact to the availability of water as a result of global climate change;