Drinking Water - Surface Water (Midwest Conservation Blueprint 2026 Indicator)

Definition This indicator identifies the quality and availability of surface drinking water from surface sources for people within the Midwest Landscape. It prioritizes areas based on supply and demand of drinking water, plus the presence of threats to the water supply. Pixels can take the following values: 1 – Less important watersheds, not a natural asset 2 – Less important watersheds, natural assets 3 – Median importance watersheds, not a natural asset 4 – Median importance watersheds, natural assets 5 – More important watersheds, not a natural asset 6 – More important watersheds, natural assets Selection This indicator was chosen as a targetable, important feature of the MLI goals that will be used to track conditions over time and prioritize areas for conservation. Indicators were defined through elicitation and prioritization exercises with federal and state participants. Criteria for the indicators includes 1) actionable, 2) measurable, 3) relevant to multiple groups across the region, and/or 4) representative of other social and/or environmental values. Input Data & Mapping Steps This indicator originates from the USDA Forest Service National Forests to Faucets 2.0 Assessment. To create this layer, MLI partners, members, and staff completed the following mapping steps: projected all input data to NAD83 (2011) UTM Zone 15N, converted the input data to a 30m raster based on the importance score of each watershed, classified the raster into three categories, and emphasized natural assets within each watershed, leading to a raster with the following categories: 1 – Less important watersheds, not a natural asset, 2 – Less important watersheds, natural assets, 3 – Median importance watersheds, not a natural asset, 4 – Median importance watersheds, natural assets, 5 – More important watersheds, not a natural asset, 6 – More important watersheds, natural assets. Finally, we removed highly altered areas from this layer using our Highly Altered Areas mask. For full mapping details, please refer to the Midwest Conservation Blueprint Development Process. For a complete download of all Blueprint input and output data, visit the Midwest Conservation Blueprint 2026 Data Download.

指标定义：本指标用于识别中西部景观范围内人群可获取的地表饮用水源的质量与可及性。其依据饮用水的供需状况及供水面临的威胁，对区域进行优先级排序。该指标的像素值对应如下类别：1——低重要性流域（watershed），非自然资产；2——低重要性流域，自然资产；3——中等重要性流域，非自然资产；4——中等重要性流域，自然资产；5——高重要性流域，非自然资产；6——高重要性流域，自然资产。

指标遴选：本指标被选为MLI目标中具备可靶向性的重要特征，将用于长期追踪环境状况并确定保护优先区域。该指标通过与联邦及州级参与者开展的专家征询与优先级排序工作确立。其遴选标准包括：1）具备可操作性；2）可量化；3）与区域内多类群体相关；以及/或4）可代表其他社会及/或环境价值。

输入数据与制图步骤：本指标源自美国农业部林务局（USDA Forest Service）的《国家森林到水龙头2.0》（National Forests to Faucets 2.0）评估项目。为生成该图层，MLI的合作方、成员及工作人员完成了如下制图流程：将所有输入数据投影至NAD83 (2011) UTM 15N带坐标系，基于各流域的重要性评分将输入数据转换为30米分辨率的栅格（raster），将栅格划分为三大类别，并强化各流域内的自然资产，最终得到包含以下类别的栅格：1——低重要性流域，非自然资产；2——低重要性流域，自然资产；3——中等重要性流域，非自然资产；4——中等重要性流域，自然资产；5——高重要性流域，非自然资产；6——高重要性流域，自然资产。最后，通过“高度改变区域”掩膜（mask）移除该图层中的高度改造区域。如需完整制图细节，请参阅《中西部保护蓝图开发流程》（Midwest Conservation Blueprint Development Process）。如需下载所有蓝图的输入与输出数据，请访问《中西部保护蓝图2026数据下载页面》（Midwest Conservation Blueprint 2026 Data Download）。