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The Hydrologic Sciences Program focuses on the fluxes of water in the environment that constitute the water cycle as well as the mass and energy transport function of the water cycle. The Program supports the study of processes from rainfall to runoff to infiltration and streamflow; evaporation and transpiration; the flow of water in soils and aquifers; and the transport of suspended, dissolved, and colloidal components. The Hydrologic Sciences Program retains a strong focus on linking fluxes of water and the components carried by water across boundaries between various interacting facets of the terrestrial system and the mechanisms by which these fluxes co-organize over a variety of timescales and/or alter fundamentals of water cycle interactions within the terrestrial system. The Program is also interested in how water interacts with the landscape and the ecosystem as well as how the water cycle and its coupled processes are altered by land use and climate. Studies may address physical, chemical, and biological processes that are coupled directly to water transport. Projects submitted to Hydrologic Sciences commonly involve expertise from basic sciences, engineering and mathematics; and proposals may require joint review with related programs. The Hydrologic Sciences Program will also consider synthesis projects.

The Hydrologic Sciences Program focuses on the fluxes of water in the environment that constitute the water cycle as well as the mass and energy transport function of the water cycle in the environment.  The Program supports studying processes from rainfall to runoff to infiltration and streamflow; evaporation and transpiration; as well as the flow of water in soils and aquifers and the transport of suspended, dissolved and colloidal components.  Water is seen as the mode of coupling among various components of the environment and emphasis is placed on how the coupling is enabled by the water cycle and how it functions as a process.  The Hydrologic Sciences Program retains a strong focus on linking the fluxes of water and the components carried by water across the boundaries between various interacting components of the terrestrial system and the mechanisms by which these fluxes co-organize over a variety of timescales and/or alter the fundamentals of the interacting components.  The Program is also interested in how water interacts with the solid phase, the landscape and the ecosystem as well as how such interactions and couplings are altered by land use and climate change.  Studies may address aqueous geochemistry and solid phase interactions as well as physical, chemical, and biological processes as coupled to water transport. These studies commonly involve expertise from basic sciences and mathematics, and proposals may require joint review with related programs.  The Hydrologic Sciences Program will also consider some synthesis activities.

Benefit-Cost Analysis is a widely employed approach for evaluating the economic consequences of environmental decisions. For environmental quality improvements, particularly those involving air pollution controls, major investments have been made in data collection and modeling methods. As a result, public and private stakeholders have well-developed tools available to inform their understanding of air pollution policies. America's water resources are also at risk of degradation from chemical and microbial pollutants and changing climatic conditions; however, the ability to estimate the benefits of water quality improvements has lagged behind analogous work for air quality. The U.S. GAO (2014) recently noted the challenges associated with valuing water quality. In addition, how differences in spatial scales impact water quality benefits is not well understood. It is recognized that actions that improve water quality in headwater streams, for example, can affect the quality of downstream waters, thereby supplying benefits far from the site of action. The U.S. EPA is interested in supporting research to improve non-use valuation methods that will enable public and private stakeholders to better evaluate water quality for the Nation's inland fresh water small streams, lakes and rivers, estuaries, coastal waters, and the Great Lakes.  For purposes of this RFA, small streams are defined as streams that are perennial and wadeable. 

The Utah Water Science Center (UWSC) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner that has the ability to conduct research on the application of environmental tracers to water resources investigations in Utah and surrounding states including the Great Basin and Upper Colorado River Basin. UWSC primarily conducts research and operates monitoring networks investigating groundwater and surface-water resources in Utah and in adjoining groundwater and surface-water basins. Current research projects and networks include (but are not limited to) Great Salt Lake geochemistry and hydrodynamics, regional groundwater assessments, groundwater and surface-water quality, salinity fate and transport in Upper Colorado River Basin, groundwater discharge to streams in the UCRB, geochemistry and groundwater flow in geothermal systems, Great Basin groundwater availability, numerical ground- and surface-water modeling, methane fate and transport in streams and groundwater-surface water interaction. For more information about UWSC, refer to http://ut.water.usgs.gov/. For a successful cooperative agreement, the CESU partner must have complementary research interests and be able to address these and other potential research topics.

This Cooperative Agreement is a 5-year project for development and implementation of a Native Water Leasing Pilot Program for the Middle Rio Grande (MRG) to be developed and implemented jointly by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) in coordination with the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD). Water acquired under the Program will be used to support implementation of the December 2016 Final Biological Opinion for Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Non-Federal Water Management and Maintenance Activities on the Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico (2016 BiOp). The primary focus of the Cooperative Agreement is to develop and implement the cooperative pilot Program with MRGCD and willing sellers over a 5-year implementation period to acquire water for environmental use in the MRG. Through pilot implementation, the Program will set the stage for expanded native water leasing and other voluntary measures at scale as win-win solutions for the river, local communities, agricultural producers, and MRGCD over the long term. Further, it provides a key component of a large-scale long-term opportunity to combine instream water leasing with the restoration of riparian and upper watershed habitats along with other initiatives to advance landscape-scale restoration in the MRG. Areas where collaboration with other agencies and partner organizations will broaden the scope of the effort, leverage additional funding, and increase the prospects for long-term success will be identified throughout the effort.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting applications from eligible applicants as described in Section III.A to provide training and technical assistance for small public water systems to help such systems achieve and maintain compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), and to provide training and technical assistance for small publicly owned wastewater systems, communities served by onsite/decentralized wastewater systems, and private well owners to improve water quality under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Training and technical assistance activities provided to these systems, communities and private well owners should be made available nationally in rural and urban communities and to personnel of tribally- owned and operated systems.

CUAHSI's Let's Talk About Water (LTAW) Program uses a simple film screening and panel discussion format to catalyze conversation between water science experts and the public. LTAW events have been a well-received and effective educational forum in which complex water issues are addressed through the use of film, followed by a moderated panel discussion related to the content of the film. By keeping the language simple and straightforward, the audience leaves with a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the complex water issues facing society.

USAID/Middle East is making a special call for the submission of Concept Papers focused on the Middle East Water Security Initiative (MWSI). The goal of the MWSI is to improve sustainable, long-term access to water for up to 20 million people living in the Middle East. The MWSI will target Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, West Bank/Gaza, and Yemen and promote sharing of best practices and lessons learned among the five participating countries. To achieve its bold but doable goal, MWSI will engage both international and local actors from the private sector, civil society, public sector, and other organizations to (a) support dynamic young entrepreneurs, researchers, and consumers with opportunities to develop, test, scale-up and market "water-smart" technologies; and (b) increase awareness of and local ability to address water security challenges in the Middle East through behavior change and advocacy campaigns.

The program is also responsible for implementing the following Secretarial Orders and will support: 1). S.O. 3347: Conservation Stewardship and Outdoor Recreation 2). S.O. 3356, Hunting, Fishing, Recreational Shooting, and Wildlife Conservation Opportunities and Coordination with States, Tribes, and Territories 3). S.O. 3366, Increasing Recreational Opportunities on Lands and Waters Managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior BLM Montana/Dakotas has an opportunity to work with partner organizations to assist BLM with the following: 1. Increase and enhance access to public lands and waters. 2. Increase and enhance hunting, fishing and recreational opportunities. 3. Increase and enhance recreational shooting opportunities. 4. Improve inventory, assessment and planning on public lands and waters. 5. Improve management, administration, and monitoring of public lands and waters. 6. Provide enriched visitor services, information, interpretation and education. 7. Enhance community-supported partnerships in tourism and marketing. 8. Protect visitor health and safety. 9. Improve accessibility for persons with disabilities. 10. Improve motorized and non-motorized trails including trail construction and maintenance; comprehensive travel and transportation inventory and assessment, planning management and monitoring

The Confluence Tech Showcase will connect vendors, manufacturers, developers, entrepreneurs, technologists, engineers, and students to our regional utilities to share solutions to the top challenges that have been identified by the utilities. This call for abstracts is addressed to vendors, manufacturers, developers, researchers, technologists, engineers, utilities, entrepreneurs, students and anyone with a solution to the challenges outlined by the Regional Utility Network.   Topics: (Sessions have been categorized into the following tracks: financial innovations, operational efficiencies, business drivers, resiliency opportunities, regulatory concerns, and water sector challenges for utilities within the water cycle (stormwater, drinking water, wastewater).  Abstracts should provide a technology, process, and/or case study of solutions related to these topics, and clearly indicate their value proposition and unique aspects in addressing the problem.  )

Section 104g of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 requires that this competitive grant program focus on water problems and issues of a regional or interstate nature beyond those of concern only to a single State and which relate to specific program priorities identified jointly by the Secretary of the Interior and the water resources research institutes

In 2013, a new NSF-funded petascale computing system, Blue Waters, was deployed at the University of Illinois. The goal of this project and system is to open up new possibilities in science and engineering by providing computational capability that makes it possible for investigators to tackle much larger and more complex research challenges across a wide spectrum of domains. The purpose of this solicitation is to invite research groups to submit requests for allocations of resources on the Blue Waters system. Proposers must show a compelling science or engineering challenge that will require petascale computing resources. Proposers must also be prepared to demonstrate that they have a science or engineering research problem that requires and can effectively exploit the petascale computing capabilities offered by Blue Waters. Proposals from or including junior researchers are encouraged, as one of the goals of this solicitation is to build a community capable of using petascale computing.

In 2013, a new NSF-funded petascale computing system, Blue Waters, was deployed at the University of Illinois.  The goal of this project and system is to open up new possibilities in science and engineering by providing computational capability that makes it possible for investigators to tackle much larger and more complex research challenges across a wide spectrum of domains.  The purpose of this solicitation is to invite research groups to submit requests for allocations of resources on the Blue Waters system. Proposers must show a compelling science or engineering challenge that will require petascale computing resources. Proposers must also be prepared to demonstrate that they have a science or engineering research problem that requires and can effectively exploit the petascale computing  capabilities offered by Blue Waters.  Proposals from or including junior researchers are encouraged, as one of the goals of this solicitation is to build a community capable of using petascale computing.

NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration & Research (OER) is soliciting proposals for ocean exploration in waters under U.S. jurisdiction, including the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). OER is interested in projects that provide data and information that may inform ocean-related segments of the U.S. economy through mapping, characterization, and exploration of the deep seafloor and water column of the U.S. EEZ as well as marine cultural heritage in U.S. waters. OER is soliciting proposals for three themes:

In 2010, NSF established the Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES)1 investment area to lay the research foundation for decision capabilities and technologies aimed at mitigating and adapting to environmental changes that threaten sustainability. Some SEES investments advanced a systems-based approach to understanding, predicting, and reacting to stress upon, and changes in, the linked natural, social, and built environments. In this context, the importance of understanding the interconnected and interdependent systems involving food, energy, and water (FEW) has emerged. The NSF aims to specifically focus on advancing knowledge of the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles; the production and use of fertilizers for food production; and the detection, separation, and reclamation/recycling of nitrogen- and phosphorus-containing species in and from complex aqueous environments.

In 2010, NSF established the Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES)1 investment area to lay the research foundation for decision capabilities and technologies aimed at mitigating and adapting to environmental changes that threaten sustainability. Some SEES investments advanced a systems-based approach to understanding, predicting, and reacting to stress upon, and changes in, the linked natural, social, and built environments. In this context, the importance of understanding the interconnected and interdependent systems involving food, energy, and water (FEW) has emerged. The NSF aims to specifically focus on advancing knowledge of the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles; the production and use of fertilizers for food production; and the detection, separation, and reclamation/recycling of nitrogen- and phosphorus-containing species in and from complex aqueous environments.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Great Lakes Science Center is offering a funding opportunity for a new research project to improve understanding of how climate and land use changes influence fisheries production at the global scale. Specifically, these changes could affect water temperatures, lake levels, and water quality which, in turn, influence fisheries habitat. Forecasts of these human-induced perturbations indicate continued, if not accelerated, changes in coming decades, yet natural resource managers may not be prepared to cope with these changes because of limited understanding of how climate and land use changes influence inland fisheries yield.

EPA-ORD seeks applications from eligible entities to enter into a cooperative agreement with EPA that will provide training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students on-site at ORD's Ground Water and Ecosystems Research Division (GWERD) research facilities located in Ada, Oklahoma.  It is envisioned that the training program will increase both the effectiveness and number of future environmental scientists. The training received under the mentorship of EPA scientists will complement the trainees' academic coursework. The recipient will be responsible for ensuring that the training projects are supportive of the trainees' academic training.  Some appropriate fields of study for trainees include, but are not limited to, environmental science, water policy, chemistry, engineering, computer science, ecology, and physical and biological sciences.

The Chemical Oceanography Program supports research into the chemical components, reaction mechanisms, and geochemical pathways within the ocean and at its interfaces with the solid earth and the atmosphere. Major emphases include:  studies of material inputs to and outputs from marine waters; orthochemical and biological production and transformation of chemical compounds and phases within the marine system; and the determination of reaction rates and study of equilibria. The Program encourages research into the chemistry, distribution, and fate of inorganic and organic substances introduced into or produced within marine environments including those from estuarine waters to the deep sea.

The Chemical Oceanography Program supports research into the chemical components, reaction mechanisms, and geochemical pathways within the ocean and at its interfaces with the solid earth and the atmosphere. Major emphases include: studies of material inputs to and outputs from marine waters; orthochemical and biological production and transformation of chemical compounds and phases within the marine system; and the determination of reaction rates and study of equilibria. The Program encourages research into the chemistry, distribution, and fate of inorganic and organic substances introduced into or produced within marine environments including those from estuarine waters to the deep sea.

The project would consist of the field reconnaissance of springs and selected wells within each of the subregions. All work would be conducted under the oversight of a California Professional Geologist and Certified Hydrogeologist. A nongovernmental organization (NGO) and the hydrogeologist will work with BLM to identify the final list of springs and wells for each subarea. Spring monitoring would be conducted along the general guidelines presented in Dr. Donald Sada¿s spring reconnaissance methodology prepared for the Desert Managers Group (DMG) but focusing on the hydrologic aspects of his spring method. While biological data will be critical future data to be collected, in the end, biological resources at the springs are tied to the viability of the water source. Further, hydrologic data are easier to accurately quantify and measure with repeatability as opposed to changes in biological resources. The information gathered during this task will inform future biological surveys, eliminating the time spent on far-ranging locations that may otherwise have little value. Additionally, the field reconnaissance will inform any plans for follow-up geochemical sampling of spring water.