Simpler Grants.gov #G27AS00164

USGS competitive research grants for industrial and data-center water-use measurement

The U.S. Geological Survey is soliciting competitive research grant applications to improve understanding of water use by data centers and other industries supplied by public water systems. - Government buyer: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Water Resources Research Act Program. - Opportunity: National Competitive Grants under Section 104 of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984, funding opportunity G27AS00164. Eligible applicants are Water Resources Research Institutes established under the Act. - Research focus: Develop, test, and demonstrate transparent, scalable methods to observe, estimate, and validate industrial and data-center water use. Projects must use artificial intelligence and machine learning and address uncertainty, forecasting, future-use scenarios, data sources and validation, reuse, self-supplied withdrawals, seasonal variation, and stakeholder needs. - Funding: Approximately $462,500 in total program funding; four awards are anticipated, with a federal award ceiling of $120,000 each. Applicants generally must provide at least $1 in non-federal matching funds for each federal dollar. - Important restrictions: Research on human-subject health effects and oceanography is ineligible; estuarine research is acceptable. Institutes with unmet reporting requirements on prior USGS awards are ineligible. Federal employees may participate as co-investigators but cannot be principal investigators or provide or receive matching federal funds. - OEMs and vendors named in example budget materials: YSI (YSI EXO sonde, model 599101) and MicaSense (RedEdge multispectral camera); Western Lab is named in connection with nutrient stakes. The budget example also names National Institutes for Water Resources, University Imaging Center, Environmental Quality, and Management of Biological Invasions. These example costs are not a government purchase list; no commercial vendors are specified for the grant program itself. - Example budget products and services: One YSI EXO sonde (599101), one MicaSense RedEdge camera, field and laboratory supplies, nutrient stakes, sample analysis, research travel, imaging, and publication expenses. Full itemization is provided below.

Description

The U.S. Geological Survey is offering competitive grants under section 104 of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 to support research for water resources in states and territories served by Water Resources Research Institutes. Only Institutes established under the Act are eligible to apply, and cost sharing is required. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by the State Water Resources Research Institute before November 12, 2026, at 5:00 PM Eastern Time. The program lists $462,500 in total funding, anticipates four awards, and sets an award ceiling of $120,000.

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