The Water Research Foundation (WRF) announced that it is accepting proposals for 20 research projects, funded through WRF’s Research Priority Program, to advance the science of water for communities worldwide.
Half of the research projects’ proposals are due by Nov. 22, 2022, while the offer half are due by Dec. 13. Requests for Proposals for the projects, with information on how to apply for funding, can be found on WRF’s website. Proposals must follow WRF’s Guidelines for Research Priority Program Proposals.
The foundation’s Research Priority Program focuses on five key themes: efficient resource use and recovery, healthy communities and environment, resilient infrastructure, treatment optimization and intensification, and utility operations and management.
The 20 new research projects will address high-priority topics for the water sector, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) management, risk management, equity, greenhouse gas emissions, innovative technologies, and more. The projects were selected for funding by WRF’s Research Advisory Council, which reviews stakeholder perspectives on challenges and opportunities facing the water sector and approves the annual research agenda under the Research Priority Program.
“I am excited about the work The Water Research Foundation is doing to answer the questions many utilities are currently facing,” says Yvonne Forrest, Director of Houston Water and outgoing chair of the Research Advisory Council. “This slate of projects represents many hours of work to ensure the needs of this sector are being addressed.”
Groups that are eligible to apply for research project funding include educational institutions, research organizations, utilities, government agencies, consulting firms, and more.
The titles for each of the open projects are as follows:
Proposals due Nov. 22:
- State of the Science and Regulatory Acceptability for PFAS Residual Management Options
- Applicability of Remote Sensing Technology for Water Quality Monitoring and Ecological Assessment
- Integrating Climate Change Impacts with Wet Weather Management, Capital Improvement, and Stream Network Enhancement
- Preparing the Water Sector to Embrace Technology: Skillsets and Enterprise Management Approaches for the Digital Age
- Feasibility and Applicability of Emerging Utility-led Innovations in Addressing Affordability
- Incorporating Equity and Social Dimensions into Community Climate Adaptation Planning and Watershed Management
- Fate of Microplastics in Drinking Water Treatment Plants
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Best Practices for the Water Sector Workforce
- Improved Risk Management from Condition Assessment Data
- Innovative Technologies to Improve Monitoring of Assets
Proposals due Dec. 13:
- Evaluating Innovative and Sustainable Treatment Options for Biosolids
- Cost-Effective Approaches for Control of Multiple Constituents of Emerging Concern (CECs)
- Feasibility of Full-Scale Implementation of LED UV Disinfection
- Navigating One Water Planning through Municipal Water Programs: Meeting Multiple Objectives and Regulatory Challenges
- Improved Equity & Environmental Justice in Asset Management
- Integrating Wastewater-Based Epidemiology and Clinical Surveillance for Public Health and Utility Operations
- Back to the Future: Guidance for Adaptive and Scenario Supply Planning Approaches
- Beyond Net Zero: Advancing Interdependencies Between Utility Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions and Water-Energy-Food Nexus
- Establishing Industry-Wide Guidance for Water Utility Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories
- Quantifying the Impact of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning-Based Approaches on Utility Performance
