Catalog Workgroup

FWRMC Catalog of Monitoring Programs Workgroup

Workgroup Chair:  Denise Miller

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Florida’s water monitoring agencies and entities have long recognized the need for a centralized searchable website to provide the “who, what, when, where, and why” of water resource monitoring. As a result, the FWRMC formed a workgroup to evaluate options and coordinate development of a “Catalog of Florida Monitoring Programs” (Catalog) to meet this need.

From late 2011 through spring 2012, the Catalog Workgroup evaluated 20 existing online monitoring atlases, catalogs and portals to identify desirable features and locate an existing website onto which the Catalog could potentially piggyback. Eventually, the workgroup selected the University of South Florida’s (USF) Water Institute to create and maintain the Catalog, also known as the Water-CAT.

Water-CAT

The Water-CAT, released in May 2014, is an interactive, searchable, web-enabled database of state, federal, local, private sector and volunteer organizations that monitor water resources in Florida. It currently contains metadata on over 1,300 active projects managed by over 100 organizations. The Water-CAT serves as the “first cut” in locating ongoing monitoring efforts for water resource managers, policy-makers and the public. A video showing how to use the Water-CAT is available here. 

Additional Information

Additional information about the Catalog of Monitoring Programs development and past Workgroup meetings can be found here.