Water Supply and Scarcity

According to the United Nations, water scarcity is defined as the point at which the aggregate impact of all users impinges on the supply or quality of water. Water scarcity is a relative concept and can occur at any level of supply or demand. Scarcity may be socially-constructed or the consequence of altered supply patterns stemming from climate change. Resources available in this sub-theme include U.S. drought monitoring data, workshops for rural water supply systems, among other resources that support water supply and scarcity.

Water Supply and Scarcity Resources

Weather and Climate Toolkit

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The WCT allows the visualization and data export of weather and climate data, including Radar, Satellite and Model data. The WCT also provides access to weather/climate web services provided from NCEI and other organizations.Read more

Global Satellite Soil Moisture

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
This is a NESDIS operational satellite derived soil moisture product that combines measurements from several different satellites. There are several ways to view the data, including daily animations. This link gets you to the basic page.Read more

Hydro-Estimator Satellite Rainfall Estimates

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
This link is to NESDIS operational geostationary satellite derived precipitation estimates. Estimates of rainfall from satellites can provide critical rainfall information in regions where data from gauges or radar are unavailable or unreliable, such as over oceans or sparsely populated regions...Read more

Inundation Dashboard

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Inundation Dashboard provides real-time alerts and historical inundation information at select NOS stations. The product is available in three regions: New York City/Long Island Sound; Lower Chesapeake Bay; and coastal North Carolina with additional regions to followRead more

National Water Center (NWC)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
This site provides information on the mission and function of the Office of Water Prediction's NWC and access to guidance from the new National Water Model. Read more

Digital Coast Sea Level Rise Viewer

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Use this web mapping tool to visualize community-level impacts from coastal flooding or sea level rise (up to 6 feet above average high tides). Photo simulations of how future flooding might impact local landmarks are also provided, as well as data related to water depth, connectivity, flood...Read more

Digital Coast Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
This online visualization tool supports communities that are assessing their coastal hazard risks and vulnerabilities. The tool creates a collection of user-defined maps that show the people, places, and natural resources exposed to coastal flooding. The maps can be saved, downloaded, or shared to...Read more

Digital Coast

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The Digital Coast was developed to meet the unique needs of the coastal management community. The website provides not only coastal data, but also the tools, training, and information needed to make these data truly useful. Content comes from many sources, all of which are vetted by NOAA. Data sets...Read more

Water for agriculture: How one innovative project is helping African farmers grow more food

Publication date:
March 20, 2015
Overseas Private Investment Corporation
This blog highlights OPIC partner Pamiga Finance S.A., an investment company developed to bring financial resources to rural microfinance institutions in Africa. One key aim of the project was to provide dedicated loans to African farmers so they could invest in micro-irrigation systems and improve...Read more
Regional/Country focus:
Sub-Saharan Africa

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