MIDDLEBURG, VA, Jan. 20, 2013 -- The Policy Committee of the American Water Resources Association (AWRA) recently released its first national report examining the challenges and successes of integrated water resources management (IWRM) here in the United States.

In 2011, the AWRA Board of Directors commissioned two position statements from the AWRA Policy Committee. One supported the development of a national water vision and strategy. The other called for implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) across the United States and committed AWRA to help strengthen and refine IWRM concepts. In an effort to link these two statements, the Board asked the Committee to explore, through a series of case studies, how IWRM is guiding water management in the United States. That charge ultimately resulted in the recently released report.

"Case Studies in Integrated Water Resources Management: From Local Stewardship to National Vision" explores state, multi-state, and regional efforts to implement IWRM and highlighting its effectiveness at all levels of water management. Citing programs from Oregon, California, Washington, Delaware, Minnesota, Florida and New Mexico, the case studies dispel the mystery behind IWRM by discussing the process of shifting to an IWRM approach and the resulting costs and benefits. Together, the selected set of cases show that IWRM is a powerful and common-sense approach for managing water in the United States.

Using the collective experiences represented in the seven case studies, the report finds opportunities to improve our national stewardship of water resources and concludes with a recommendation that the United States move toward integrated water management at all levels of governance.

The following case studies are highlighted in the report: