Lives of Consequence
Stephen Anthony '82
Director of the U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Islands Water Center
At the Honolulu-based USGS Pacific Islands Water Science Center (WSC), Stephen Anthony '82 manages overall program development, planning, and tracking of water resource programs in Hawaii and the Pacific.
"Our mission to provide information to help manage, protect, and enhance water resources is critical to creating a sustainable future for our society," Anthony says. "We address water-related hazards such as flooding, but unlike most federal agencies we do not have a regulatory role. We strive to provide actionable information that is reliable, impartial, and timely to assist water resource management. Our engagement with stakeholders helps to keep us relevant to decision makers."
The program encompasses about $5 million in research and monitoring performed by about 35 scientists and technicians, all of which is overseen by Anthony, who consults with federal, state, and local agencies concerning cost, content, and water resource information needs.
In addition to his roles with the WSC, Anthony is also serving as a liaison to the Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF) "in what is hoped to be a multi-year effort to address threats to long-term fresh water security in the Hawaii Islands," he says. "The HCF is seeking diverse stakeholder participation from both the public and private sector to identify shared water security issues, build knowledge and capacity in the water sector, identify opportunities for innovation, policy and technology solutions, and support the implementation of projects through private and public funds."
The HCF's end-goal is a prioritized plan to identify "infrastructure, policy, and technological advances that can serve as an action agenda to protect and preserve long-term fresh water supplies in the islands," Anthony says.
After earning a B.S. in geoscience at HWS, which "provided me with a solid foundation for graduate school and ultimately a career with USGS," Anthony says, he embarked upon his graduate studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
It was during this time as a graduate student that he began working with the USGS, initially as the hydrologist responsible for conducting groundwater-resource appraisals on atoll islands in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.
Between 1996 and 1999, he served as Project Chief for the USGS National Water Quality Assessment of the Island of Oahu. In the following 10 years, he served as the deputy director of the WSC and also as the head of the Hydrologic Studies Section and as the Center's water-quality specialist. He assumed and has remained in the post of director since 2009.