Water Research Foundation to Commit $6.4 Million to 2012 Research Program

At its Jan. 20 meeting the Water Research Foundation’s (WRF) board of trustees approved $6.4 million in funding for the foundation’s key research programs for 2012. The approved funds are allocated as follows:

• The Focus Area Program identifies a limited number of broadly relevant subscriber issues and solves them with a targeted, multiyear research response. Approximately 60% of the research budget has been allocated to this program for 2012, the first funding allocated to the program, which was created in early 2011.
• The Emerging Opportunities Program enables WRF to respond quickly to emergent subscriber challenges and research ideas identified throughout the year. Approximately $1.28 million, or 20% of the budget, has been allocated to this program for 2012.
• The Tailored Collaboration Program enables WRF to partner with utility subscribers on research that may be more limited or regional in impact. The last 20% of the foundation’s research budget has been allocated to this program for 2012.

The board also approved the initial ten water utility challenges that will be addressed under the Focus Area Program. These challenges were identified through a comprehensive review of existing research and input from stakeholders, most notably a subscriber needs assessment conducted in 2011. The approved focus areas include:

• Hexavalent Chromium: Filling Critical Knowledge Gaps to Inform Effective Rulemaking and Customer Communication;
• Water Utility Infrastructure: Applying Risk Management Principles to Effectively Manage Deteriorating Infrastructure;
• NDMA and Nitrosamines: Precursor Control, Treatment Practices and Distribution System Operations to Achieve Regulatory Compliance;
• Carcinogenic VOCs Contaminant Group: Filling Critical Knowledge Gaps to Inform Meaningful Regulation;
• Water Utility Energy Efficiency and Integrated Water-Energy Planning: Developing Tools and Strategies;
• Water Utility Finances: Best Practices for Setting Rates, Financing Capital Improvements and Achieving Public Support;
• CECs in Drinking Water: Improved Cost-Benefit Analysis of Different Management Approaches;
• Contaminant Risk Communication: Developing Core Messages and Engaging Critical Stakeholders;
• Water Demand: Improving the Accuracy of Forecasts and Management; and
• Biofiltration: Defining Benefits, Overcoming Unintended Consequences and Developing Utility Guidance.

Source: Water Research Foundation