The Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable: Understanding, Measuring, and Promoting Water Resources Sustainability through Innovative Strategies

The purpose of this paper is to familiarize readers with the work of the Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable and provide a summary of the proposed project agenda for the next two years. The Roundtable was established to engage federal, state, corporate, nonprofit, and academic entities in advancing understanding of the nation's water resources and developing tools for sustainable water management. Some of the topics the Roundtable has been involved with include the United States Geological Survey's national Water Census, the Alliance for Watershed Stewardship's International Water Stewardship Standard, and the promotion and evaluation of linkages between energy and water. The Roundtable has promoted a framework of water sustainability indicators for understanding how well the nation and its communities are doing in meeting social, economic, and ecological needs associated with water management.