(Alexandria, VA) May 20, 2019 — The Water Research Foundation (WRF) announced that a Request for Proposals (RFP) is available for a new research project funded under the Foundation’s Emerging Opportunities Program. This project will develop a practical framework for utilities that operate drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems to use as a tool to develop resilience plans for their infrastructure, to help meet America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) requirements, and to achieve the ultimate goal of increasing water infrastructure resilience.

In the water sector, resilience focuses on protecting human health, property, and the environment by minimizing drinking water and wastewater service outages, flood protection, and recovery of all systems as soon as possible following a disruption. As such, each utility’s risk-management priorities depend on many factors, including utility size, location, assets, and perhaps most importantly, the resources and capabilities a utility can access. According to a Water Research Foundation project, Resilient Water Infrastructure: Improving Understanding and Assessing Needs (4707), “there is no agreed definition of, or approach to, resilience across the sector” and “no consensus as to whether the development of a ‘standard’ definition would be helpful.” Long-term threats to water infrastructure including infrequent/uncertain hazards and extreme weather events, limited funding and flexibility, and deteriorating infrastructure complicate the water sector’s resilience planning efforts.

To accomplish the goals of this project, the researcher will review and synthesize recent related literature and deconstruct water utilities’ experiences of recent disaster events, e.g., earthquake, wild fire, flooding, etc., and provide insights and suggestions for a practical framework for water utilities, including drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities, to use in developing infrastructure resilience plans. Additionally, the research effort will include a workshop for utilities to share project findings and experiences, provide insights, and identify gaps on infrastructure resilience, in particular those related to the AWIA requirements, including challenges, advancements, and lessons learned.

WRF will form a Project Advisory Committee (PAC) composed of volunteer professionals with expertise in the research subject area to oversee the project funded through this solicitation. Proposals will be reviewed by WRF staff and the PAC against established evaluation criteria. WRF may request additional information from the researcher based on this review, and interviews may be conducted for the top three proposals.

Proposals should be submitted to EOpportunities@waterrf.org by 3 pm MT on Tuesday, June 18^th, 2019. For proposal submittal questions, contact Caroline Bruck, Senior Administrative Assistant, at cbruck@WaterRF.org (303-347-6118). For technical questions about the RFP, contact Jian Zhang at jzhang@waterrf.org (303-347-6114).

More information on the RFP is available here.

Washington, DC- The nation’s leading water and public works organizations – representing the full spectrum of water issues, research fields, and utilities from every part of the country – are gathering in the nation’s capital during Water Week 2019 (March 31-April 6) to urge Congress and the Trump Administration to increase investment in water infrastructure, research, and reuse.

Hundreds of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater professionals will take to Capitol Hill during a series of Water Week 2019 events to meet face-to-face with lawmakers and advocate for national policies that advance clean, safe, affordable, and sustainable water for all Americans. (Full events list follows).

Water sector organizations are calling on Congress to:

• Increase the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) appropriation and reauthorize the program in 2019
• Fund the Drinking Water SRF at the fully authorized level of $1.3 billion in FY2020
• Fund the Water Infrastructure Finance & Innovation Act (WIFIA) program at its fully authorized level of $50 million in FY2020
• Provide $20 million for the National Priorities Water Research Grant Program
• Increase the authorization for the Bureau of Reclamation water reuse and recycling competitive grants program and appropriate $100 million in FY2020
• Fund United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utility Service Water/Wastewater Loans at $2 billion and Grants at $500 million
• Protect full funding for water quality conservation and source water protection programs in the USDA National Resources Conservation Service
• Fully fund new grant programs created in America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018

Water Week 2019 comes as water resources and systems face growing challenges that include aging infrastructure, increased water quality concerns, workforce shortages, and climate change impacts. Access to clean, safe and reliable water is a vital need that impacts every American, every day. Since water is imperative to public health and the economy, it is critical that the federal government elevate water as a national policy and funding priority.