Welcome Message from Rosemary

General
1

Welcome to the online forum for the project Taking the Pulse of the Watershed. Visit our home page for the project description, and the list of past and upcoming seminars (Wednesdays 11-11:50 PT).

Taking the Pulse of the Watershed is part of the larger initiative Taking the Pulse of the Planet which has as its vision:

By 2040 - A global network of sensors - satellite, airborne, land/water-based - to support the adaptive management of planetary health and human activities.

We cannot build a global network of sensors without a global network of people. Central to all we do is an Open Science approach to engage broadly and build community.

This forum is intended to serve as a place where Watershed Project participants - researchers, partners, stakeholders - can stay informed about project activities, and interact with others - asking and answering questions, proposing new ideas, brain-storming to find new solutions, etc.

Open Science communities are expected to establish a Code of Conduct. What we want to achieve is a community where everyone continues to return to this forum and feels a valued member of this community. I propose keeping our Code of Conduct very simple: Please be respectful and please be kind.

Please contact me if you have suggestions for improving this forum.

Thanks for joining us!
Rosemary
rknight@stanford.edu

1 Like
3

Welcome! My name is Patrick Atwater. I currently manage the innovation program for the Metropolitan Water District of So Cal. Once upon a time, I helped get the CA water data collaborative off the ground (theCaDC.org). Great to see this initiative and curious to learn more.

Also regarding a code of conduct, one pattern I’ve found successful in cosmopolitan technical communities is “don’t make us make a rule, rule.”

Here are a couple of resources and touch points to consider:

  • The Aspen Internet of Water should be on your radar if not already.
  • Check out the new Protocol Institute which we’ve been collaborating with to great success at Metropolitan. ( https://protocol-institute.org/ )
  • You should consider presenting at the upcoming CA water data summit (CAwaterdatasummit.org)

Also a question for you: how do you envision linking up legacy administrative data and existing in situ sensors from the built environment? For example here I am thinking of the water metered data flowing through the CaDC and then also other electricity, gas and other meters. There’s also trash waste streams as well as production and system operations data through SCADA. Information on land use and other typologies is key.

Final thought on the broader theme of climate adaptation and the forces shaping our future: New Nature - by Venkatesh Rao - Contraptions

My email is PAtwater@mwdh2o.com