Like related environmental sciences, the hydrologic sciences community has been defining environmental observatories and the support components necessary for their successful implementation, such as informatics and instrumentation. Unlike programs, such as NEON, that have been pursuing large-scale capital funding through the Major Research Equipment program of the NSF, the consortium of universities for the advancement of hydrologic sciences inc (CUAHSI) has been pursuing incremental development of observatories that has allowed us to pilot different parts of these support functions, namely Hydrologic Information Systems and a Hydrologic Measurement Facility (HMF), the subject of this paper. The approach has allowed us to gain greater specificity of the requirements for these facilities and their operational challenges. The HMF is setting the groundwork to support the breadth of the Hydrologic Community. The HMF effort is also taking a step-wise, spin-up model, with a small core grant, to be complemented by further grants, and through collaborative agreements with federal agencies and industrial partners. These efforts are guided by the results of a community wide survey conducted in Nov-Dec 2005, and a series of ongoing workshops. The survey identified the types of equipment that will advance hydrological sciences. Respondents to the survey indicated they were keen for HMF to focus on providing supported equipment such as atmospheric profilers (LIDAR), geophysical instrumentation including airborne sensors and GPR, and field isotope mass-spec. The recently signed CRADA, an agreement with USGS will for the first time provide university researchers with rental access to hydrological equipment, ranging from data loggers to advanced acoustic doppler current meters through USGS's Hydrologic Instrument Facility. Soil scientists should be excited about opportunities that are developing that will provide access to instrumentation that may enhance their individual research programs.