The Open and Transparent Data Act (AB No. 1755)
- Policy Category: Open Water Data
- State: California
- Date Implemented: 9/23/2016
9/23/2016
The Open and Transparent Water Data Act, or Assembly Bill 1755, requires that the Department of Water Resources (DWR) “in consultation with the California Water Quality Monitoring Council, the state board, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife, in accordance with a specified schedule, to create, operate, and maintain a statewide integrated water data platform that, among other things, would integrate existing water and ecological data information from multiple databases and provide data on completed water transfers and exchanges.”
Integrated Water Data Platform Components
“The statewide integrated water data platform created pursuant to Section 12410 shall, at a minimum, do all of the following:
(a) Integrate existing water and ecological data information from multiple autonomous databases managed by federal, state, and local agencies and academia using consistent and standardized formats.
(b) Integrate the following datasets, as available:
(1) The department’s information on State Water Project reservoir operations, groundwater use, groundwater levels, urban water use, and land use.
(2) The state board’s data on water rights, water diversions, and water quality through California Environmental Data Exchange Network (CEDEN).
(3) The Department of Fish and Wildlife’s information on fish abundance and distribution.
(4) The United States Geological Survey’s streamflow conditions information through the National Water Information System.
(5) The United States Bureau of Reclamation’s federal Central Valley Project operations information.
(6) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s, United States Forest Service’s, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries’ fish abundance information.
(c) Provide data on completed water transfers and exchanges, including publicly available or voluntarily provided data on the volume, price, and delivery method, identity of the buyers and sellers, and the water right associated with the transfer or exchange.
(d) Provide documentation of data quality and data formats through metadata.
(e) Adhere to data protocols developed by state agencies pursuant to Section 12406.
(f) Be able to receive both spatial and time series data from various sources.”
The Act also created a Water Data Administration Fund to pay for the development of the project.
- Action Agency(ies): The California Department of Water Resources, the California Water Quality Monitoring Council, the State Water Resources Control Board, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Read the full policy language
