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OpenET has a new CEO! Sara Larsen has been at the forefront of collaborative water data innovation for more than a decade. She's set to lead OpenET in a new phase of growth as we continue to refine and expand the platform. Read more on Larsen: https://t.co/66OxL1elHS

"To be effective, irrigation efficiency needs to be deployed thoughtfully, in combination with other important tools, in the context of a whole local water balance." My colleague, Ann Hayden, with some clear-eyed reflections on thinking beyond efficiency: https://t.co/cXBZ7SHpwA

The Groundwater Accounting Platform created by @EnvDefenseFund, @CAWaterData, and others enables #water managers, landowners, and users across California to track availability and use in near real-time. Tool: https://t.co/g95ImQxUrB #podcast: https://t.co/bFLqa0Aiqj

And we all need a breather after that! What a lightning tour of how OpenET is supporting federal & state water work. All this is just peek at the TREASURE TROVE of conversations happening over these two days. Watch this space as we digest & share more learning from the week!

..."tearing up a bit" when he saw the OpenET dataset —including statewide monthly field-level ET data from the past 38 years(!!)—come together. Oregon's work is a powerful example of the potential for OpenET to help support western states' water planning in a era of water stress

Jordan Beamer ends the session with a bang --- sharing how the Oregon Water Resources Dept is using OpenET to support water budgets and planning. He even admits to...

....consumptive use, "a critical driver to improve water management in the delta." Ziegler also highlights OpenET's accessibility, noting that proposed alternatives are "not an absorbable cost for farmers in the delta."

Next up in this epic knowledge download of a plenary, Jay Ziegler, California's Delta Watermaster, takes the stage. Jay notes OpenET's central role in "grounding a substantive conversation on water use in the delta" through its ability to improve our understanding of...

Rachel notes OpenET data is playing a key role in helping the state establish a baseline model for agricultural water demands. The model allows unprecedented critical planning questions like what happens to flows in a basin if we change crop types or adjust irrigation practices?

...that hero is the new Colorado River Authority of Utah (@AuthorityUT) & OpenET is helping inform its work to better manage the state's share of the Col River thru: 1) boosting research efforts, especially water demand analysis and 2) improving implementation work

Next up, Rachel Musil of the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, treats us to an AI-image filled tour of how OpenET is helping inform Utah's pioneering attempts to better shepherd its share of Colorado River water. Drought-strained Utah needed a hero, Rachel says...

Jim notes @usbr has long wanted a "faster, more direct way to measure water use that is well-documented and verifiable." He shares their work on building a relational database that will help boost reporting efforts and thanks OpenET for helping "get us to this huge milestone."

Jim Prairie of @usbr is up next to share how remote sensing data like OpenET is helping the Bureau of Reclamation dramatically speed up critical reporting cycles on consumptive uses and losses in Colorado River Basin.

...a growing range of applications including: - boosting @USGS's groundwater modelling efforts - estimating irrigation withdrawals from consumptive use...for the entire United States!!

Jack Eggleston of @USGS steps up to share how they are both helping shape & use OpenET data. The platform is proving crucial in "pinning down the hardest part of the water cycle to characterize" - evapotranspiration. The result of the integration of OpenET data?...

...integrating OpenET into water rights data will help the critical mission to enable voluntary, compensated, temporary water rights transfers that will help lead the Colorado Basin to a more sustainable future. Next...

Tony Willardson (exec dir of @WesternStatesWC + long-time sage of Colorado River negotiations) takes the stage to note open data sharing is "the foundation of everything we do." Better understanding consumptive water use is key to improving Col River water rights management...

Forrest Melton of @NASAAmes launches the session with a reminder of the critical role state and federal partners are playing in both developing and applying OpenET to tangibly improve water and land management in the some of the most water-strained regions of the US.

"...something is clicking with this community because everyone is walking around smiling today." The world of water management is not famous for happiness, so let's celebrate the grins this week! Let's track some highlights from the Day 2 plenary that's kicking off right now...