OHD - National Water Center

Overview: National Water Center (NWC)

water.noaa.gov

• 65,000 SF facility on the campus of University of Alabama (UA), Tuscaloosa; 205 Hackberry Lane Tuscaloosa, AL 35401


• Green Building: NWC will be LEED Gold


• First national water resources facility in the country that will serve as a catalyst for the Integrated Water Resources Science and Services (IWRSS) partnership, or IWRSS. Toward that end, a new partnership has been launched.


• IWRSS, which consists of NOAA; the US Geological Survey (USGS); and the Army Corps of Engineers as its initial members, will unify and leverage each agency's expertise and investments to improve water resource forecasts, understand how water moves across the land and rivers, and facilitate creative and informed decisions--all utilizing the best available science.


• IWRSS Information Sheet


• IWRSS Memorandum of Understanding


• IWRSS Roadmap


• Designed specifically for major programmatic functions:


• Operations Center with Situation Rooms


• Establish common operating picture for floods to droughts; begin demonstration of hourly summit-to-sea analyses and forecasts of soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and snow pack; and expand demonstration of Real-Time Dynamic Flood Inundation Mapping portraying the extent, depth, and impacts of flood waters to enhance community resiliency and enable decision makers to mitigate the impacts of floods.


• Geo-Intelligence Laboratory


• Develop, implement and maintain state-of-the science enterprise Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to support NWS operations


• Collaborative Science and Software Engineering Studio


• Optimized development environment to better share and leverage investments and advances in science, technology and modeling


• Systems Proving Ground


• Dedicated facility to test new capabilities prior to field implementation, minimize operational risk, and accelerate deployment from research to operations


• Distance Learning Classroom and Auditorium


• Facilitate cost-effective, state-of-the-art residence and distance learning to maintain and enhance technical competencies and enable field to easily leverage NWC knowledge base


• Build Schedule


• Design-Build contract awarded to Triune-Beck in September, 2011


• Ceremonial ground-breaking in February 2012


• Attended by NOAA's Dr. Kathryn Sullivan; Senator Shelby; Dr. Robert Witt, Chancellor of the University of Alabama system; William Werkheiser, USGS Associate Director of Water; members of UA Board of Trustees


• Construction completion in December 2013. The NWC is expected to open in Spring 2014.

Feb 2012	Jun 2012	Sept 2012	Dec 2012
Jan 2013	Feb 2013	Mar 2013	Apr 2013
Apr 2013 - Basement	Apr 2013 - 1st Floor	Apr 2013 - 2nd Floor	Design Plans
Late Apr 2013	Late Apr 2013 Rotunda	Late Apr 2013 1st Floor	Late Apr 2013 2nd Floor
Late Apr 2013 Exterior Site	May 2013	May 2013 1st & 2nd Floor	June 2013 Exterior and Basement
June 2013 First and Second Floors	July 2013 Exterior	July 2013 Basement	July 2013 First Floor
July 2013 Second Floor	July 2013 Roof	November 2013 Exterior	November 2013 Basement
November 2013 First Floor	November 2013 Second Floor	Late November 2013