This bill changes how the National Water Center and related offices operate. It updates section 301 of the Coordinated Ocean Observations and Research Act of 2020. The Office of Water Prediction in the National Weather Service is directed to lead the move of federal water research, including model development, into operational use. The National Water Center is named the primary center for coordinating water research and operations across several Federal agencies, including Agriculture, Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, USGS, and FEMA. The bill also requires the Office of Water Prediction to supervise River Forecast Centers and to administer the Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology. It directs use of the Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System (or a successor) to develop water models and to incorporate those models into the unified forecast system. The bill updates a fiscal year reference to cover each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.
If enacted, the bill tells specific NOAA offices and centers to take on new leadership and coordination roles for water research and operational models. It assigns oversight of River Forecast Centers and the Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology to the Office of Water Prediction. It directs use of federal supercomputing resources to develop water modeling capabilities and to add those capabilities into the unified forecast system. The text names other federal agencies that the National Water Center should coordinate with. It does not describe direct actions for private individuals.
No publicly available information on total costs or new appropriations is included in the text. The bill does change a fiscal-year reference to "each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028," but it does not specify dollar amounts or funding sources.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.