The 2025 NASA Western Water Applications Office (WWAO) Annual Meeting was held May 13–15 at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, convening a hybrid audience of in-person and virtual participants from across the Western U.S. Attendees represented a broad range of sectors—including federal and state agencies, academic institutions, the private sector, and nonprofit organizations—and came from 12 states, including New Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, and Nebraska. The event focused on the theme “Bridging Science and Solutions for Water Management in the Western U.S.” and provided a platform to connect NASA Earth observations with water resource challenges on the ground.

The 2.5-day agenda included plenary talks, technical panels, mission updates, and an interactive stakeholder workshop. Sessions featured real-world applications of NASA tools such as OpenET, Snow Today, and the Drought Severity Evaluation Tool (DSET), which was co-developed with the Navajo Nation to provide localized drought indicators. Presenters emphasized the growing role of AI, user-centered design, and operational tool adoption. Feedback from participants highlighted the need for expanded “final mile” support, continued student engagement, and greater integration across tools and datasets. The meeting underscored WWAO’s evolving role as a bridge between cutting-edge science and practical solutions for Western water management.

A comprehensive meeting report summarizing key insights and recommendations will be available soon on the WWAO website. Please visit wwao.jpl.nasa.gov for updates and additional resources.

On the third day of the WWAO Annual Meeting (May 15), mission science and applications leads provided technical updates on GRACE-FO, SWOT, PACE, and NISAR, highlighting how these missions are advancing water resource monitoring. J T Reager (NASA-JPL) shared progress on GRACE-FO, which continues to provide critical groundwater data and is moving toward integrating near-real-time gravity anomalies into GLDAS products. Renato Frasson (scientist in the Water and Ecosystems group at NASA-JPL) presented on SWOT, now in early operations, which is capturing surface water elevations at unprecedented spatial resolution—offering new possibilities for hydrologic modeling and reservoir management. Margaine McKibben (NASA-GSFC) spoke about PACE, whose hyperspectral imaging is already detecting red tide events and tracking water quality indicators with high precision. Karen An (NASA-JPL) previewed NISAR, expected to launch in 2025, emphasizing its ability to track soil moisture, flood dynamics, and land deformation using dual-frequency radar.

Each mission features an “early adopter” program designed to ensure that science translates into service, engaging stakeholders to co-develop tools and applications. A recurring theme across the presentations was NASA’s commitment to usability, access, and validation—foundational efforts to help Earth observations inform real-world water decisions in an era of growing scarcity and demand.

WWAO hosted the opening workshop for the 92nd annual Western Snow Conference (WSC) in Bozeman, Montana on May 19, 2025. The WSC aims to share scientific, management, and socio-economic information on snow and runoff and advance snow and hydrologic sciences. Aligning with this year’s theme, ‘From Research Into Practice,’ WWAO explored end users' needs, snow-related water management challenges, and how NASA research and expertise could be utilized to improve decision making. Facilitating this workshop supports WWAO’s effort to co-design solutions for Western water users and bring the perspective of end users back to NASA to drive further innovation. In total, 32 people attended the workshop from 8 states, bringing perspectives from across the research to operation spectrum.

After morning presentations highlighting NASA’s remote sensing capabilities, past successes integrating NASA data into decision support tools, and the upcoming NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) mission, participants collaborated on generating use cases in four areas: snowpack modeling and simulation, data fusion, data access and integration, and snow impacts on water resources, with participants developing over 25 preliminary ideas. In the afternoon, groups refined five of the use cases into detailed posters, articulating challenges, data needs, end users, and more. Throughout the day, participants had opportunities to network with one another, collaborate to generate use cases, and learn about NASA’s current and upcoming capabilities. WWAO will share further insights at an upcoming Connecting the Drops webinar.

Sean Fleming presented on behalf of the NASA Water Resources Program and Western Water Action Office at the 3rd annual Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology (CIROH) Developers Conference last month in Vermont.

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Accurately estimating snow water equivalent (SWE) in near-real-time is important for water resources management and water supply forecasting in snow-dominant regions.

Interstate Resources Manager for the California Department of Water Resources

Jeanine Jones is the Interstate Resources Manager for the California Department of Water Resources. She is a member and past Chair of the Western States Water Council, a Designee on the Colorado River Board of California, and a registered civil engineer in California and Nevada. She has more than 40 years of experience in water resources management.

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Senior Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Cathleen Jones is a Senior Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Her research is focused on using synthetic aperture radar to identify, monitor, and study natural and man-made hazards, and includes development of methods for tracking and characterizing oil slicks, measuring subsidence in deltas, and monitoring levees, dams, and aqueducts. She is the Science Team Applications Lead for the NASA-ISRO NISAR mission, which will image nearly all the Earth’s land surface every 12 days, providing the data to the public free of charge.

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Research Scientist, Capacity Building Program, BAER/NASA Ames Research Center

Nikki Tulley is a member of the Navajo Nation, an Indigenous Nation located in the United States southwest. She works with the NASA Capacity Building Program and is part of BAERI/NASA Ames Research Center. As an Indigenous Scientist, she recognizes that opportunity to braid Indigenous science and western science together to use Earth Observation satellite imagery to tell a story of the changes being monitored from space and those observed from the landscapes. Nikki's passion is empowering communities through data access and capacity building. She believes that community involvement in research can significantly aid in seeking solutions for resilient and sustainable communities.

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Amanda Sheffield, Senior Associate Scientist, University of Colorado Boulder Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) affiliated with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS)

Amanda is a Senior Associate Scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)affiliated with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS). She is a Regional Drought Information Coordinator for the California-Nevada Drought Early Warning System (DEWS), working with partners across all levels of government, academic institutions, and the private sector to improve capacity to monitor, forecast, plan for, and cope with the impacts of drought. She also supports NIDIS on efforts on subseasonal to seasonal forecasting and snow drought as well as drought in Hawaii and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands. Amanda holds degrees in Atmospheric Science from Colorado State University (Ph.D., M.S.) and Purdue University (B.S.).

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Take a look at our Science Publications page, where you can dig into some of the scientific research in which WWAO and its partners are involved. Publications are related to WWAO's water projects or the work of partners and collaborators within our community.

The Water Education Foundation will host their 41st annual Water Summit on October 1, 2025 in Sacramento, CA. Registration opens on June 18th.

Save the date, February 3 – February 5, 2026 for the Nevada Water Resources Association Annual Conference in Las Vegas.

The flooding of a 750-acre addition next to the Salton Sea is part of a larger habitat restoration plan of more than 9,000 acres.

This project, part of the comprehensive Salton Sea Management Program, will implement three ways of improving the ecosystem of the New River.

Lake Oroville has the potential to reach its full capacity of 900 feet, due to the high levels of snowfall from 2023 and 2024.

California’s peak average snowpack has decreased ad is melting fast than usual, causing concern over increased wildfire risk.

While the short-term expectation is a less active and shortened recreation season, there may be a better chance of precipitation in late summer.

The intersection of drought and heat can have numerous impacts, including the increased chance of wildfires, reduced supplies of water and even lengthen the duration of heat waves.

The Colorado River flow, once a reliable source for endemic wildlife, has been reduced since the construction of the Hoover Dam and dispersal to growing human populations in the states of the Southwest, endangering the life of some wildlife species.

The Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting Program measures the annual snowpack volume in the Pacific Northwest, a critical water resource stored for uses such as agriculture and fisheries.

In a collaborative effort for better snow prediction, scientists are upgrading a well-known climate model to simulate sunlight reflection on snow.

The Chesapeake Bay Working Group at Goddard includes several stakeholders who collectively review how NASA satellite data can help support a variety of needs in the largest North American estuary.