Water quality is a critical element of freshwater supply, particularly in times and areas of drought, in part due to less dilution of point contaminant sources. Limited water resources can be further strained if water quality is not managed properly.While there are measures in place to protect human and environmental health from poor and risky water quality conditions, implementation of these measures are reliant on collecting physical water samples, or using station data, both of which provide a spatially and temporally incomplete understanding of water quality conditions. This consideration is especially important in environments that are highly complex and heterogeneous such as the California Bay Delta, as well as in budget-constrained systems, or with sites that are remote and have limited access. Remotely sensed information is valuable to improving water management and has gained traction primarily in managing water supplies, land use practices related to water resources, and mapping consumptive use and agriculture water demand. There is also considerable potential for application of remote sensing to specific water quality management challenges, and this project is combining satellite and airborne data with existing networks and datasets that are comprised of ground or field-based point measurements. Project objectives include: (1) develop and/or strengthen existing algorithms from various platforms for the identified water quality products; (2) centralize and automate processing for water quality products for access through the Bay Delta-Live ((BDL) baydeltalive.org) web application; and (3) develop a suite of data decision dashboards that encompass specific use cases or management use scenarios.
https://appliedsciences.nasa.gov/programs/water-resources-program