Program Description | Solicitiations | Currently Funded Projects | Published Reports
Desalination and Water Purification Research Program
The Desalination and Water Purification Research & Development (DWPR) Program (formerly the Water Desalination Research and Development [DesalR&D] Program) was authorized by Congress under the Water Desalination Act (Act) of 1996. The Act authorized program funding beginning October 1997 for a six year period and has been extended through 2006. Funding for the DWPR program is provided through Reclamation's Office of Research.
The Act is based on the fundamental need in the US and world-wide for additional sources of potable water. The primary goal of the DWPR program is to develop more cost-effective, technologically efficient, and implementable means to desalinate water. The two principal thrusts of the program are:
1) perform research on desalination technologies and related issues to push the state-of-the-art forward (research and studies); and
2) conduct development and demonstration activities to test technological advancements, to confirm economics, and to gain public acceptance (development projects).
Research and studies are accomplished through award of financial assistance agreements and contracts with non-Federal entities. A competitive, merit-reviewed process is used for making awards with a recommended cost-sharing of 25 to 50% Federal contribution and a maximum Federal funding up to $5 million per year.
In May 2001, after the first three years of the program, the Bureau of Reclamation submitted a report to Congress recommending demonstration and development projects to further evaluate successful research findings. Click here to view the report to Congress (DWPR Report No. 67).
The DWPR program is divided into the following emphasis areas or tasks:
- Task A - Membrane Process Research & Development Studies
- Task B - Thermal Process Research & Development Studies
- Task C - Non-Traditional/Alternative Desalination Process Research & Studies
- Task D - Water Recycling and Reuse (now funded under Reclamation's Title XVI program)
- Task E - Ancillary and Economic Improvements
- Task F - Concentrate Issues
- Task G - Testing of Pilot-Scale Systems
- Task H - Partnerships
- Task I - Design, Construction, and Testing of Plants and Modules
- Task J - Technology Transfer
Project management and administration of the DWPR program is assigned to Reclamation's Water Treatment Engineering and Research (WaTER) Group. The majority of the efforts previously addressed by the Water Treatment Technology Program (WTTP) will be accomplished by the DWPR program.
Due to reduced funding, contracts were not awarded in fiscal years 2000 and 2006.
Click here to obtain a copy of the most recent newsletter describing currently funded projects.
Following are the ten working tasks within the DWPR program, the objective of each task, and a listing of current projects within each task.
Click here to obtain a listing of all published reports. Short abstracts are provided for all DWPR reports, as well as .pdf files for all reports.