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STATE WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTES AND RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAMS—GROUND-WATER PERSPECTIVE

BACKGROUND sector in addressing water problems of importance to the States, regions, and the Nation. The programs also serve to train future

The Water Resources Research Act of 1984 directs the professionals in the hydrologic sciences, and to make known

Secretary of the Interior to administer two programs related to and apply the findings of the research. Ground-water projects

water-resources research—the State Water Resources Research of the Institutes and Grants programs are primarily concerned

Institute Program and the Water Resources Research Grants with the identification of sources of pollutants, their movement

Program. Both programs are concerned with research, and fate in ground water, and techniques for alleviating

technology development, and information transfer that will assist contamination.

responsible agencies to solve important water-resources and related land-use problems. The U.S. Geological Survey is

STATE WATER INSTITUTESresponsible for administering these programs.

The Water Resources Research Institutes and Research Fifty-four Institutes are located at colleges and universities Grants programs bring together the expertise and resources of in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the academic community, government agencies, and the private and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Institutes are funded for

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research, information transfer, training, and management of programs that aid in the solution of critical State water problems. In fiscal year 1988, each Institute is receiving $105,000 of Federal funds (a total of $5,670,000); each Federal dollar is matched with one and one-half non-Federal dollars, principally from universities and State governments.

The Institutes are organized into eight regional associations for the identification of common problems and coordination of research (see map). Major problems are identified through con-sultations with officials representing a broad range of leading water-related agencies and interests in each State, with the private sector, and with interested citizens. Research programs are then developed to address these problems. Water-quality-management problems account for more than 56 percent of the research expenditures for all Institutes (see chart).

ECOLOGICAL

(11.3%)

ECONOMIC AND

INSTITUTIONAL

(5.8%)

GROUND-WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT

(23.4%)

SURFACE-WATER MANAGEMENT

(20.3%)

SURFACE-WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT

(33.5%)

GROUND-WATER MANAGEMENT

(5.7%)

In 1987, the institutes allocated about $976,000 (23 percent) of the research portion of their Federal grants to 60 projects

directly related to ground-water-quality problems (see chart). The problems most commonly identified nationwide are: • Seepage of contaminants into ground water from point sources, such

as industrial waste dumps, septic tanks, leaking underground storage tanks, disposal lagoons, and mining operations;

• Effects of contaminants from nonpoint sources, such as storm runoff from urban areas and from fertilized farmlands;

• Intrusion of salty water or other water of impaired quality into freshwater aquifers and wells; and

• Leaching and accumulation of natural salts in the soil owing to ir-rigation practices.

WATER-RESEARCH GRANTS

Under this program, research grants are made to qualified educational institutions, foundations, private firms, citizens, or agencies of local or State governments for research on a variety of water-related issues deemed to be in the national interest. Research proposals are solicited each year and a process of scientific peer review and panels is used to select proposals for funding. The grants are made on a dollar-for-dollar matching basis. For fiscal year 1987, 274 research-grant proposals were received. Of these, 34 were funded for a total of $4,361,000; 15 of the projects, which accounted for $1,922,000 of the grants, were related to ground-water quality.

In fiscal year 1988, priority areas of research for the Water

Research Grants Program are ground-water quality, water-quality management, institutional change in water-resources management, and climate variability and the hydrologic cycle. Examples of ground-water-related project objectives are: • To determine best sampling strategies for ground-water-quality

management (University of California), and • To determine the feasibility of removing chlorinated organic com-

pounds from ground water by the use of microorganisms attached to an artificial substrate (BioTrol, Inc.).

For more information about projects and research conducted under the State Water Resources Research Institutes and Research Grants programs, contact:

Office of External Research U.S. Geological Survey 424 National Center Reston, Virginia 22092

Open-File Report 88-176 M.O. Ertel and R.W. Peebles, 1988

For more information about the program in Virginia, contact: William R. Walker, Director

Virginia Water Resources Research Center 617 North Main Street

Blacksburg, Virginia 24060-3397 (703) 961-5624