Research and Development Office

Reclamation moves five ideas forward in prize competition to help improve sediment removal in reservoirs

(December 10, 2020) WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Reclamation has selected five projects to each receive $75,000 through phase one of the Guardians of the Reservoir prize competition. The contest was seeking new ways to effectively and continually manage sediment in reservoirs.

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Reclamation awards $5.8 million to 22 laboratory and pilot-scale desalination research projects

(June 18, 2020) The Bureau of Reclamation awarded $5.8 million to 22 laboratory and pilot-scale desalination research projects to enable broader deployment of desalination and recycled water technologies.

"Desalination is a tool for communities to find new sources of water to meet their needs today and into the future," said Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman. "We are investing in desalination research across the U.S. to make it more affordable and energy efficient, giving communities access to reliable and drought-resistant water supplies."

The Desalination and Water Purification Research Program (DWPR) works with Reclamation researchers and partners to develop more innovative, cost-effective, and technologically efficient ways to desalinate water. The goal of the DWPR is to increase water supplies by reducing cost, energy consumption and environmental impacts of treating impaired and otherwise unusable waters. The Department of the Interior is delivering funding to researchers as they take an idea from the lab to a real-world demonstration, which yields products that serve the water treatment community. Reclamation is interested in research where the benefits are widespread and where research has a national significance.

Improving Employee Safety: Noise Control in Powerplants

In this issue of the Knowledge Stream we are sharing about how we’re addressing noise-related safety challenges in Reclamation’s powerplants and other facilities. Reducing noise helps to protect employees from the impacts of noise-induced hearing loss, create a better working environment, and promote employee safety and health.

We’re excited to highlight collaborations involving R&D Office’s Science and Technology Program, Reclamation offices and facilities, and outside organizations. These efforts involved demonstrations and facilitated adoption – an important act of transitioning maturing technologies into broader use. Read Issue >>

Funding available to develop new water treatment technologies

"There is a need to reduce the cost, energy requirements and environmental impacts in treating unusable water," said Program Administrator Yuliana Porras-Mendoza. "This innovative program allows technical experts to help select the strongest applicants."

Reclamation is looking for new technologies or processes to:

• Treat brackish groundwater in a less energy-intensive way than currently available.

• Reduce cost, energy, and/or environmental impacts of reverse osmosis/nanofiltration concentrate.

• Improve the efficiency of the water treatment process–either by improvements to pre-treatment, post-treatment, monitoring, sensors, or other innovative process or technology.

• Reduce costs, energy usage, and/or environmental impacts of seawater desalination, including intakes and/or outfalls.

• Reduce costs, energy requirements, and/or environmental impacts of treating impaired and unusable water to standards necessary for an identified beneficial use.

Applications are due by June 17, 2020, at 4:00 p.m. MDT. If your application is selected, you will be invited to participate in the "pitch" event on September 24 - 25, 2020.

Reclamation selects five projects in prize competition that seeks to extend the life of water infrastructure

(March 3, 2020) Five projects were selected as winners for the Bureau of Reclamation's Rust Busters Stage II, Phase 1 Prize Competition. The contest sought ideas to extend the life of water infrastructure by reducing corrosion, in particular rust, of its steel structures. These five projects will now proceed to Phase 2 of the competition. Read More
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Reclamation allocates an additional $2.8 million to develop innovative solutions for water and power management issues

(March 2, 2020) The Bureau of Reclamation is providing a total of $2.8 million in additional funds to 30 new research projects through its Science and Technology Program. This additional funding builds on the previously announced award of a total of $8.9 million for 27 new and 114 continuing projects.

“We are pleased with the variety of research projects submitted in this competition,” said Levi Brekke, Research and Development Program Manager. “These projects will lead to innovative solutions for water and power challenges in the Western United States.”

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Reclamation awards $75,000 for ideas that lower cost of continuous streamflow monitoring

(January 21, 2020) The Bureau of Reclamation partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey for a prize competition seeking innovative ideas to significantly reduce the cost of continuous streamflow monitoring compared to current methods while also increasing the availability of streamflow data. Accurate and reliable records from continuous streamflow monitoring stations are vital to water resources planning, design, management and research. Of the 40 potential cost-saving solutions received, five winners were selected to share a total prize pool of $75,000.

"A number of compelling ideas for continuous streamflow monitoring were received," said David Raff, Reclamation’s science advisor. "This demonstrates the continued benefit of soliciting new and novel ideas from the broader public through competitions." Read More
Visit the Streamflow Monitoring Prize Competition