The Nature Conservancy in Nevada, DRI, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison have launched the Nevada GDE Water Needs Explorer Tool. This online resource helps managers quantify the water requirements of Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs) such as meadows, wetlands, and riparian forests. In Nevada’s arid environment, understanding how groundwater levels sustain these habitats is vital for maintaining both biodiversity and human health.
The tool provides high-resolution data to assist in regional planning by calculating the groundwater component of evapotranspiration. This allows managers to see exactly how much water plants draw up from the ground and model how rising temperatures will impact specific species. Hydrologists can use the data from the Nevada GDE Water Needs Explorer Tool for broader municipal and agricultural sustainability models to identify risks before they become irreversible.
Before this tool was developed, Nevada lacked a centralized way to estimate the sensitivity of diverse ecosystems—ranging from cool mountain wetlands to dry desert shrublands—to declining water levels. By identifying these needs quantitatively, the Nevada Division of Water Resources and other agencies can better protect the state's limited freshwater sources.
