1. AB 1755 The Open and Transparent Water Data Act
Christina McCready, Chief
Integrated Data & Analysis Branch (DSIWM)
California Department of Water Resources

2. Assembly Bill 1755 (Dodd)
AB 1755 is an opportunity to integrate and increase access to water data collected by governmental agencies, which will:
Foster collaboration among state agencies
Create opportunities to share and integrate datasets
Minimize duplicate data gathering and reconciliation of diverse datasets
Improve water resources management and operations through data-driven decision-making
Improve transparency and accountability

3. Assembly Bill 1755 (Dodd)

4. Assembly Bill 1755 (Dodd)

5. Assembly Bill 1755 (Dodd)

6. What is Open Data? minimal restrictions liberal terms of use
attribute and sharealike
for any purpose
freely used, re-used and redistributed by anyone
freely used, modified, and shared
public domain
minimal restrictions
World Bank calls out two dimensions of data openness:
legally open—placed in the public domain or under liberal terms of use with minimal restrictions
technically open—published in electronic formats that are machine readable and non-proprietary, so that anyone can access and use the data using common, freely available software tools. Data must also be publicly available and accessible on a public server, without password or firewall restrictions. To make Open Data easier to find, most organizations create and manage Open Data catalogs

7. AB 1755 Implementation
Working in cooperation with the research sector, including California Council on Science and Technology, UC Water, and National Labs

8. AB 1755 Implementation

9. Strategic Plan Vision Goals
Useful data for sound, sustainable water resource management
Goals
Data are sufficient
Data are accessible
Data are useful
Data are used

10. Federated Interoperable Portals
data.ca.gov
data.cnra.ca.gov

11. State-hosted portals Tools to help SMEs address business needs
Data discovery, interoperability, visualization
 Maximize value of data
AB 1755 means that anyone who visits the federated platform will be able to more easily find and use the rich data currently distributed across agencies in a variety of formats and not always easy to locate.
While the average Californian may not spend much time looking for or using the raw data, we expect that easier access and better utility will drive the creation of new dashboards and analytics. On-going data challenges are already demonstrating the potential value.

12. Datasets on Portals data.ca.gov data.cnra.ca.gov
1700+ datasets available
Natural Resources – 1225
Health & Human Services – 356
Water – 123
Economy and Demographics – 79
Government – 17
Transportation – 7
1200+ datasets available
California Department of Fish and Wildlife – 1048
California Department of Water Resources – 96
California Energy Commission – 43
California Water Commission – 1
Ocean Protection Council – 32

13. Use Cases (User Demands)

14. Use Cases (User Demands)

15. Protocol Requirements
Data Sharing
Documentation
Quality Control
Public Access
Open Source Platforms
Decision Support Tools

16. Iterative, user-based approach
Initial Protocols
Iterative, user-based approach
Develop only what is necessary
3 initial protocols
Identify a data steward
Publish and document on an open data platform
Access data

17. Led by UC San Diego Supercomputer Center
Open Water Information Architecture
Led by UC San Diego Supercomputer Center
System requirements document that will inform additional AB 1755 protocols
Goal of increasing interoperability of systems

18. Safe Drinking Water Data Challenge
Data Challenges and Beta-testing
Safe Drinking Water Data Challenge
Beta-test Activities
For beta-testing, we’re looking at 5 use cases:
Water budget / balance
Mercury (Rafa)
UWMP / AGWMP (NSF big data hub $20k)
IEP (George)
SGMA framework for AEM data

19. Safe Drinking Water Data Challenge

20. Safe Drinking Water Data Challenge

21. Exploration of Governance/Funding
The Water Data Consortium, as proposed in the Advisory Council recommendations, would be a nonprofit organization convened by the Water Foundation to amplify efforts to improve water data infrastructure. The Consortium would provide a consistent space for collaboration across sectors, build trust, and drive the creation of new dashboards and analytics.

22. Water Data Consortium
On April 5, 2019, the Secretaries of CNRA and CalEPA released a joint letter expressing their support for the formation of a Water Data Consortium. The letter can be found on the AB 1755 website if you would like more context.

23. Discussion https://water.ca.gov/Programs/All-Programs/AB-1755

24. Portal federation
CNRA Link:
California Open Data Portal Link:

25. What is Open Data? Many definitions exist
Open Knowledge International
European Data Portal
World Bank
Open Definition
Open Definition

26. What is Open Data?
World Bank calls out two dimensions of data openness:
legally open—placed in the public domain or under liberal terms of use with minimal restrictions
technically open—published in electronic formats that are machine readable and non-proprietary, so that anyone can access and use the data using common, freely available software tools. Data must also be publicly available and accessible on a public server, without password or firewall restrictions. To make Open Data easier to find, most organizations create and manage Open Data catalogs