Tisa River Basin Hydrologic Data Collection Program

Sponsors of the Tisa River Basin Hydrologic Data Collection Program

Since 1998, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided technical assistance, such as snowmelt runoff modeling and GIS (geographic information system) mapping, to the Ukrainian Land and Resource Management Center (ULRMC) for flood management in Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine.  USAID also provides funds to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to work in partnership with the ULRMC and the State Water Management Committee (SWMC) of Ukraine to collect and display real-time hydrologic data. 

A principal component of the mission of the USGS is to provide impartial, reliable, and timely streamflow information for the understanding of water resources.  A main objective of the ULRMC is to provide data and information to local, regional, and national government authorities for the understanding and management of environmental risks, for natural resources stewardship, and for hazardous situation planning and response.  Thus, after the March 2001 floods in Zakarpattia Oblast, the missions of USAID, the USGS, and the ULRMC were a logical fit for assisting in the improvement of a flood monitoring system in the Tisa River Basin in Ukraine.