In today's age, when you have a question about something
and you're trying to figure it out, you go to the Internet and look it up.
And water data doesn't always work that way.
Water data
in Texas can be fragmented and locked away
in different organizations and entities all across the state.
To actually understand and be able to utilize all of the data
that we produce, you have to have this knowledge base of how
entities and organizations also operate.
And so, there was this disconnect in people being able to find
and access the data they need unless they have that deep knowledge base.
That was really the driver of building the Texas Water Data Hub.
The data in the Hub can really be anything that describes water.
So that could be a physical measurement, something that might be like
the quantity of water moving down a stream.
Or it could be maybe the quality of the water in that stream.
We have soil moisture data
that's used a lot of times for different modeling work.
We also have political boundaries like groundwater conservation districts.
So we made sure that we wanted to be very holistic in the kind of
categories and types of data that were included.
When you come into the Hub, you're able to search for data through different
categories, as well as keywords or terms, or specific locations.
And what's great about the Hub is you're able to download the metadata,
the data dictionary, and the resource seamlessly together.
We wanted to build something that was intuitive for our users.
So, we focused on human-centered design methodologies.
And what that means is just working
with real people before you even start building something.
We talked to a lot of water data users and producers around the state
to learn from them about what their workflows are
so that we could design something that would meet their specific needs.
So, we've launched the beta version of the Hub.
And what that really means is we're not done yet.
We've spent a lot of time researching and making sure
that we are providing a product that is really usable for people.
But part of that is making sure that we put it out there
and that it works for people and get that feedback now.
The great thing about beta is that people can use it,
they can comment on it, and we have a built-in
survey for them to send us feedback on what enhancements
they might want to see in the future and if anything is not working for them.
And so we can actively be adjusting while we're still in development with beta.
So, we have a suggested dataset page, which is for anybody who has data
they want to contribute or they know of data that they think should be in the Hub.
It could even be used for somebody who has an idea of a data type
or set that they would like to be in the Hub.
They don't necessarily have to know where it is.
We're really looking for data across all different kinds of geographic entities.
So we want municipal data on water use.
We're looking for regional data.
And also, statewide data sets are really powerful,
but it's a combination of all of those that are going to make the Hub great.
To actually see people downloading data and accessing
and contributing data is going to be really wonderful,
and I'm just excited to see all the different datasets
that people have to contribute.
I really believe that making data accessible
and what we're doing is truly the foundation to good decision-
making, and it feels really powerful to be a part of that.