The Internet of Water (IoW) is accelerating the development of open data and information systems to support sustainable water resources management and water supply services. The IoW network is designed to mobilize cultural and behavioral change across individuals, agencies, and institutions to bring about necessary technological changes that will transform water information and enable better water management outcomes. Partners are coming together to accomplish this through three major efforts.
1. Equip organizations with practical tools to improve their water data infrastructure by developing and sharing educational resources such as inventories, glossaries, catalogs, data and metadata standards, and communications materials.
In January 2020, the IoW launched Coming to Terms: A Water Data Terminology Collection. The application is a crowd-sourced tool that tracks definitions, synonyms, and homonyms of water-related terms used by public agencies. As data become more integrated, it is increasingly more important to understand the terms and definitions describing data in order to ensure data pulled from multiple agencies are put to correct use.
Help expand ‘Coming to Terms’ by submitting your water terminology here.
2. Develop pilots and use cases by partnering with state agencies on their water data infrastructure and application challenges.
In April 2019, New Mexico passed the New Mexico Water Data Act and became second in the nation, after California, to adopt legislation specifically aimed at modernizing water data infrastructure. New Mexico’s Water Data Initiative demonstrates the extraordinary success possible when agencies collaborate and have internal and external expertise on which to draw.
3. Share resources, tools, and lessons learned through multiple venues, including the IoW website, conferences and workshops, social media, and a State Agency Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Network.
The State Agency P2P Network is a community of practice for members to share information, ideas, and challenges around their water data efforts. Interested states can participate by joining this group of agency partners from across the country.
Resources for partnering states include:
- A webinar series, based upon the needs and most pressing water data questions facing P2P participants, featuring state agency and industry experts on water data.
- Monthly spotlights featuring agency approaches to the challenges of modernizing water data infrastructure.
- An open forum for participants to post questions and provide feedback to others in the network.
- A professional directory of P2P participants enabling members to communicate directly with one another on shared interests.