Assessing Water Quality Trends and Suspended Sediment Surrogates Above and Below Reservoirs Using High-Frequency Sensors in New Mexico and Southern Colorado | W81EWF 20 SOI 0002

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81EWF 20 SOI 0002

The grant opportunity titled "Assessing Water Quality Trends and Suspended Sediment Surrogates Above and Below Reservoirs Using High-Frequency Sensors in New Mexico and Southern Colorado" is a discretionary, research-focused funding announcement from the Department of Defense, specifically the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It was released on November 18, 2019, with an original application deadline of December 17, 2019. The award is structured as a cooperative agreement, which typically means the agency expects to have substantial involvement during the project period (for example, coordinating on study design, data needs, reporting formats, and how results will be applied to reservoir or watershed management decisions), rather than simply providing funds with minimal follow-up.

At a high level, the project is aimed at improving understanding of how water quality and suspended sediment conditions are changing over time in river systems located upstream and downstream of reservoirs in New Mexico and southern Colorado. Reservoirs can strongly alter river behavior by trapping sediment, changing water temperatures, influencing nutrient transport, modifying flow timing and magnitude, and affecting turbidity and other indicators of water quality. Because these impacts can differ above versus below a reservoir, the opportunity emphasizes assessing trends on both sides of reservoir infrastructure, presumably to support better operation, maintenance, and environmental management of these systems.

A central feature of the work is the use of high-frequency sensors, meaning instruments that collect measurements at short time intervals (often every few minutes to hourly) rather than relying only on occasional field sampling. This kind of monitoring is especially valuable in rivers where major water quality and sediment transport changes can occur rapidly during storms, snowmelt pulses, reservoir releases, or other short-lived events. Traditional sampling can miss these peaks and rapid shifts, while high-frequency data can capture the timing, magnitude, and duration of events that drive sediment and contaminant movement.

The title also highlights "suspended sediment surrogates," which refers to developing or applying indirect measurements that can reliably estimate suspended sediment concentration (SSC) or suspended sediment load without needing to physically collect and analyze as many water samples. Common surrogate approaches rely on sensor outputs such as turbidity, optical backscatter, acoustic signals, or related parameters that correlate with sediment concentrations when properly calibrated. In practice, this usually involves pairing continuous sensor readings with a set of discrete lab-analyzed sediment samples collected across a range of flow and turbidity conditions, then building statistical or empirical relationships that allow continuous estimation of sediment metrics. The end goal is typically a more complete and cost-effective record of sediment behavior that can support engineering, habitat, and water management decisions.

Financially, the opportunity lists an award ceiling of $1,020,000 and anticipates making a single award (expected awards: 1). The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, and the activity category is "Science and Technology and other Research and Development," signaling that the deliverables are expected to be technical and data-driven, such as calibrated surrogate models, trend analyses, sensor datasets, and reporting suitable for management use. The CFDA listing is 12.630, which is associated with Department of Defense assistance programming.

Eligibility is broadly identified as "Others," with a note to consult the full opportunity text for clarification. In many Corps of Engineers cooperative agreement contexts, this can include entities such as universities, nonprofit research organizations, and other qualified institutions capable of conducting applied monitoring and analysis. Because the eligibility field points to additional instructions in the full announcement, applicants would typically need to confirm whether there are specific restrictions (for example, requirements tied to certain partnership arrangements, geographic considerations, or technical qualifications).

In summary, this opportunity funds applied scientific work to monitor and analyze water quality and sediment dynamics around reservoir systems in New Mexico and southern Colorado using high-frequency sensing technologies. It is designed to produce a more detailed, event-sensitive understanding of trends and to develop reliable surrogate methods for suspended sediment estimation, with the broader practical aim of improving how sediment and water quality issues are assessed and managed in regulated river-reservoir settings.

• The Department of Defense, Dept. of the Army -- Corps of Engineers in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Assessing Water Quality Trends and Suspended Sediment Surrogates Above and Below Reservoirs Using High-Frequency Sensors in New Mexico and Southern Colorado" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.630.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 18, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 17, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,020,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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