In the News

The scientists behind the updated Forests to Faucets 2.0 tool were recently interviewed by Blue Forest, a non-profit organization now using the tool to help assess environmental risks, ecosystem benefits, and potential outcomes of forest restoration projects.

Read the interview with Threat Center and other Forest Service scientists here.

Learn more about Blue Forest here.

The Forest to Faucets program estimates the importance of watersheds for surface drinking water across more than 83,000 US watersheds. Forest to Faucets 2.0 expands on the original assessment with updated data and considering additional threats to important watersheds. The website went live to the public in April 2020. The assessment determines the relative importance of small watersheds to surface drinking water by integrating a wide variety of data sources. Imbedded in the new data is the vital role forests play in protecting source water, and the extent to which these forests are threatened by development, insects and disease, wildland fire, and climate change. Visit the Forest To Faucets 2.0 Assessment Website to learn more and to access the interactive map viewer.  

The Oregon Capital Chronicle recently covered new research from Threat Center scientists and colleagues demonstrating the critical importance of forest lands, and National Forests in particular, for supplying drinking water to people who may live far from the forest lands they depend on. Water from forested lands is sometimes transferred hundreds of miles away to serve large cities through inter-basin transfers. SRS scientists compiled a national database of all inter-basin transfers and linked it to a hydrologic model, tracking water from forests to surface water intakes for more than 5,000 public water systems in the U.S. The study shows that forests provide 83 million Americans with more than half of their surface drinking water. National Forest System lands were particularly important for provisioning water supply in western states, providing more than 10% of the water supply for more than 83% of those who obtain their drinking water from public water systems.

Read the article in the Oregon Capital Chronical

Read the Research Highlight

A broad new study of surface water sources for more than 5,000 public water systems shows that 125 million people, or about 38% of the country’s population, receive at least 10% of their water from forests. In the arid western U.S., 39.5 million people get more than half of their surface drinking water from forests that are increasingly under threat of wildfires.

The new study, published in the AGU journal Water Resources Research, updates our understanding of where our surface water comes from. Threat Center scientists and colleagues developed a new database of inter-basin water transfers, which move surface water from where it’s plentiful to where it’s not. The researchers found, for example, that 69% of the water transported to Los Angeles, and 82% of Phoenix’s imported water, originated on forested lands.

“Healthy forests typically mean clean water, and people depend on forests for their surface drinking water supplies,” said Peter Caldwell, a hydrologist at the U.S Forest Service and co-author of the new study. “Until we completed this work, we just did not know how many people obtain their water from forested lands or how much water from forests they receive.” 

Read the full USFS / AGU news release here.

Read the original research article here.

A recent interview in Mountain Xpress puts a spotlight on NEMAC, a long-time research cooperator with the Threat Center. Interim director Karin Rogers discusses various NEMAC projects and their vital role as environmental research communicators to decision-makers and the wider public. "At NEMAC we are interested in helping people make data-informed decisions about environmental change and resilience," Rogers says. 

"The idea is to be that translator between science producers and science users. These decision-makers can vary from local municipalities, like the City of Asheville, who are interested in interpreting and understanding trends in climate data and the expected impacts, to forest managers who want to understand how large landscapes are changing from various threats like insects and disease, to planners and the public who want to know about landslide risk in Western North Carolina. Some good examples of this work include Asheville’s climate resilience assessment and the Landslide Map Viewer that we launched with the N.C. Geological Survey." Read the full Mountain Xpress interview here.

In 2021, Southern Research Station staff and their collaborators were recognized for outstanding accomplishments, with Threat Center scientists among those receiving awards. The Landscape Level Integration and Shared Stewardship team (LLISS), with more than 80 members from the Southern Region and the Southern Research Station, received a Regional Forester's Honor Award. The LLISS team includes Stephanie Laseter, Danny Lee, and Lars Pomara at SRS. This initiative is helping integrate science and management across the Southern Region. The team developed a decision framework to help land managers more effectively use assessment and planning tools, meet shared goals, actively manage landscapes, and align workforce and budget initiatives. Pomara also received the Southern Research Station Director's Award for Science Delivery, for his work with LLISS and the Southern Region of the Forest Service. 

Read the full CompassLive article.

Have you ever wondered where exactly your drinking water comes from? To help land managers and the public understand where their water comes from and what affects it, the USDA Forest Service launched an interactive map called Forests to Faucets 2.0. The map shows that forests are a critical link in providing dependable drinking water across the country. “Forests to Faucets is a powerful yet user-friendly tool that reveals the direct link between healthy forests and clean water. It can assist communities and private landowners in determining where best conservation practices are needed to sustain the many benefits clean water provides,” said Eastern Region Deputy Regional Forester Bob Lueckel. The maps depict threats to water sources, including insects and diseases, land use changes, future decrease in water yields, and wildfire potential. “The map shows that we are all watershed managers—it connects our water supply to the landscapes that surround us, in natural and built environments,” said Erika Mack, lead author of the technical report underlying the story map. First launched 10 years ago, this enhanced version of Forests to Faucets adds to the original data—including climate change impacts—and improves the user experience. Researchers and staff from the Forest Service’s Eastern Region, Southern Research Station, and the Washington Office developed the Story Map and supporting technical report. 

Read the full news release to learn more about Forests to Faucets 2.0.

F2F has also been covered in CompassLive, and was a National Forest Service Feature Story.

Explore the F2F Story Map.