USGS 104(b) Annual Base Grants Program Request for Pre-Proposals PY2024
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
The Oklahoma Water Research Center (OWRC) is seeking pre-proposals that address high priority water problems in the State of Oklahoma. This grant program is a competitive grant program available to current faculty, staff and students of any Oklahoma university conducting research addressing priority Oklahoma water issues.
For more information see the Request for Pre-Proposals.
Researchers at any institution of higher education in Oklahoma are eligible for this annual competition. We encourage diverse participation. Multiple pre-proposals from the same researcher are welcome as long as each represents a distinct research project.
We anticipate funding a minimum of two faculty projects (up to $25,000 each) and a minimum of two graduate student projects (up to $5,000 each), subject availability and guidelines.
Research priorities for 2024 are:
- Resilience of small water systems: Improve system-level resilience of small water systems, enabling them to better adapt and respond to severe/extreme weather and evolving regulatory requirements. This topic includes identifying effective strategies and viable technological, policy, institutional, and financial pathways to resiliency, as well as, understanding public perceptions of the value of water and implications for rate structures, evaluating opportunities for advancing the One Water framework in small systems, and adapting and improving social acceptability of reuse for small systems.
- Emerging Contaminants: Research the sources, fate, transport, and treatment of PFAS, microplastics, and other emerging contaminants in water resources and agro-ecosystems in Oklahoma.
- Groundwater resources: Improve understanding of brackish and fresh groundwater resources in Oklahoma, including groundwater use, recharge rates, potential impacts of climate change, opportunities for enhanced aquifer recharge and aquifer storage and recovery, surface water/groundwater interactions, and related topics to support effective management and governance.
- Ag water sustainability: Quantify agricultural water needs and opportunities for improving drought resilience, water conservation, and irrigation efficiency. This includes developing and evaluating new and innovative irrigation technologies; understanding the effects of regenerative agricultural practices on soil water, surface water and groundwater resources; and developing or improving approaches for estimating current and future crop evapotranspiration and water needs/use.
Deadline for submissions is Friday, October 20, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. Pre-proposals will not be accepted after this deadline.
More information about 104b grant submissions.