Open RFPs
Multiple Funding Options
The Water Research Foundation’s comprehensive One Water research approach includes five research programs designed to provide flexible funding and partnership opportunities. Learn more about these programs.
Respond to an RFP
Each Request for Proposal (RFP) outlines specific application requirements; submit your proposal following the guidance included in the RFP. Be sure to note deadlines as proposals submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.
Note: you will receive a confirmation email after you submit your proposal. Check your spam folder if it is not received. Retain that confirmation email as it contains a link back to your proposal.
Respond to a Call for Pre-proposals
Two of our research programs follow a two-stage process beginning with a call for pre-proposals.
The Tailored Collaboration Program call for pre-proposals is now open for submission.
The next Unsolicited Research Program call for pre-proposals will open in 2026.
Open RFPs
Method Refinement and Standardization for Microplastics Sample Collection and Analysis
Project Objectives
- Identify rigorously evaluated sample collection and analysis methodology, including QA/QC protocols, for source water, finished water, wastewater, and solids matrices that supports reliability and consistency of collected data and allows for meaningful data interpretation and policy implementation.
- Evaluate the suitability of surrogate methods to provide more rapid and cost-effective measures of microplastic occurrence.
Pipeline Infrastructure Replacement Costs Guide
Project Objectives
- To provide the water community with reliable cost data that can be used to evaluate different technologies, different project alternatives, and set initial project budgets.
- To present the information in a readily understood format that can be adjusted for regional cost differences and inflation.
Implementing a Smart Sewer System to Optimize Capacity to Reduce Surface Flooding and Sewer Overflows
Project Objectives
- Establish a methodology to assess and optimize the use of existing storage and conveyance elements within the system.
- Provide a utility-facing guidance on:
a. Best practices for identifying problem areas in the system.
b. Recommendations on the location and type of sensors required, data communication strategies, and physical infrastructure/assets based on drainage area.
c. Recommendations on the type of data and information collected (e.g., depth, velocity, rain gauge, weather radar).
d. Identifying the areas where the flow can be diverted to in a gravity-fed system and where to avoid.
e. Controlling Infiltration and Inflow (I/I) into systems through alternative stormwater management practices and discharges/contributions to sanitary sewer.
f. Determining the minimum requirements when selecting a Real-Time Control (RTC) logic and SCADA integration for stormwater and wastewater management.
Assessment of Corrosion Control Treatment (CCT) Pipe Rig Study Data Compared to Distribution System Lead Levels
Project Objectives
- Assess the degree to which data generated from pipe rig studies represent full-scale distribution system conditions.
- Identify potential variables contributing and not contributing to significant disparities between pipe rig and system results compared to systems where pipe rig and full-scale results are similar.
- Provide guidance on interpreting and applying pipe rig study results to full-scale system implementation, considering their implications for costly and potentially permanent corrosion control treatment (CCT) decisions.
- Provide context for management, regulator, and public expectations of the results for recommended changes in treatment.
Understanding the Practices, Policies and Impacts of System Development Fees and Upgrade Requirements
Project Objectives
- Conduct a representative sample of system development fees under different utility ownership and governance structures (i.e. municipal utility vs. private utility, water vs. sanitary vs. storm).
- Outline which states have state-enabling legislation that dictates what they can do with system development fees.
- Investigate the different system development fee methodologies utilized by utilities and their impact on their existing ratepayers and new customer base.
- Evaluate the pros/cons of different methods of collecting funds from developers.
- Evaluate the differences in pay-as-you-go approaches vs. depreciation accounting and ratemaking practices (terminology differences, tax implications, etc.) and how this impacts the magnitude of development fees collected and practices used in the community to validate that the funds collected are used for growth related assets.
Assessing Changing Salinity in Water Sources
Project Objectives
- Conduct a regional assessment of salinity impacts to drinking water sources, treatment processes (e.g., high versus low pressure membranes), and water reuse applications to produce a One Water categorical overview of risk types.
- Provide a review of current real-time measurement parameters, research, and assessments by national and international organizations (e.g., United States Geological Survey (USGS)) as well as river commissions and regional working groups (e.g., Delaware River Basin Commission, South Platte Salinity Stakeholder Group, Southern California Salinity Coalition, Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force, etc.) based on the risk types identified in the objective above, including utility-specific case studies and investigations.
- Understand the sources of salinity and their relative contributions to drinking water sources via case study investigations or modeling.
- Develop communication materials for use by the water sector to educate the public—including customers, staff, and other community stakeholders—about the risks of increased salinity and efforts recommended to reduce the problem.
Available Options for Regeneration or Disposal of PFAS-Laden Drinking Water Residuals, Media, and Waste
Project Objectives
This project will inform utility decisions when selecting PFAS waste handling options by exploring the benefits and limitations of the following:
- Availability and efficacy of media reactivation/regeneration methods.
- Options for depleted media disposal.
- Reduction of solid and liquid waste volume and potential for further pre-disposal treatment.
- Leaching and fate of PFAS-laden wastes in municipal waste sites.
Thinking Outside the Pipe: Comparison of Non-invasive, Non-destructive Condition Assessment Technologies for Distribution Pipe
Project Objectives
- To provide utilities with a better understanding of the benefits and limitations of low-cost, non-invasive pipeline condition assessment technologies and how they may be applied to make better distribution pipeline renewal/replacement decisions.
- To examine “false positives” and “false negatives” in estimating the limitations of these technologies.
Next-Generation Analytical Methods for Understanding Biological Nutrient Removal Processes
Project Objectives
- Using a combination of literature review, utility surveys/case studies, and lab study, investigate how wastewater monitoring using next-generation analytical methods (i.e., amplicon sequencing, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) can be applied for understanding, optimization, troubleshooting, and control of biological nutrient removal (BNR) processes.
- Identify case studies of successful application of microbial population monitoring for wastewater treatment processes using next-generation methods, with remediation strategies and lessons learned.
- Develop an up-to-date guidance document for use by treatment plant process control and
operations staff to implement next-generation analytical methods. - Identify high-priority research gaps that impede robust and consistent application of next-generation analytical methods for understanding and monitoring BNR processes.
Data Management Best Practices: Integrating Data Sources for Treatment Optimization and Efficiency
Project Objectives
- Review and compile case studies of tools that utilities use to combine data sets, organize and validate data, and maintain data security before carrying out treatment optimization/efficiency projects.
- Create a best practice guide for utilities wanting to integrate their datasets to prepare for Machine Learning (ML)/Artificial Intelligence (AI) based treatment optimization/efficiency projects.
Recognizing Institutional and Organizational Capacity for Effective Workforce Development Programs
Project Objectives
- Understand existing ways workforce development is incorporated into the organizational and strategic structure of water and wastewater utilities across varying geographies and scales.
- Identify institutional and organizational barriers for implementing workforce development programs.
- Identify opportunities for growth in supporting workforce development programs through capacity building.
The Foundations of Water Resource Planning: Guidance for Establishing Water Utility Service Levels
Project Objectives
- Review and establish a consistent definition of service levels (service level standards, service level assumptions, levels of service, etc.), differentiate from key performance indicators, identify the appropriate uses of service levels, and recommend consistent terminology for the water sector.
- Review and document current national and international practices for the establishment of utility service levels, including the impetus and process for how they are established, and the different business functions included (e.g., water supply planning, water use planning, engineering, operations, water treatment, etc.).
- Develop a guidance framework for utilities establishing their own water resource planning service levels that aligns with organizational performance goals and objectives (considering utility size, community types served, geographic region, financial and political drivers/constraints, climate change, and social equity, etc.). Include guidance for aligning capital investment decision-making with established service levels.
- Develop guidance for engaging stakeholders during the service levels setting process and for internal and external communications to achieve better understanding and alignment of staff, the community, and service levels.
Tradeoffs Between Process Optimization, Greenhouse Gas Mitigation, and Energy Efficiency
Project Objectives
- Develop a framework for integrated evaluation of the benefits (e.g., reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and enhancement of energy efficiency) and costs (e.g., capital expenditure (CAPEX), operating expenditure (OPEX), social cost of GHG emissions, and operational complexity) that wastewater and water utilities can apply at a unit operations and systems level.
- Provide a harmonized benchmarking framework to assess the value of existing treatment systems within the current regulatory construct and framework. This objective recognizes that the future frameworks for evaluation may be different, due primarily to non-stationarity in the systems from climate impacts.
- Offer recommendations for reducing GHG emissions through the utilization of energy-efficient technologies, process optimization, and/or implementation of new treatment processes.
Balancing Human and Natural Assets in a One-Water, Integrated Water Resource Management Framework
Project Objectives
- Review and develop watershed condition metrics and assessment protocols for human and natural asset structures and functions that best describe watershed health and benefits in a social-ecological system context.
- Evaluate the potential for landscape conservation, recovery, and mitigation management strategies to maintain and improve watershed condition and achieve aquatic ecosystem health targets along a disturbance gradient.
- Build an Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) and Natural and Nature-Based (NNB) decision-support framework for setting watershed condition goals and targets along a gradient that are consistent with user-defined designated use and ecosystem health goals that support desired social-ecological outcomes.
- Apply and test the decision-support framework or associated non-monetary social-ecological models to quantitatively connect watershed condition management actions to desired water quality targets and aquatic ecosystem health outcomes.
- Use case studies or hypothetical management application scenarios to scope watershed landscape conservation and recovery practices with consideration of both riparian buffers and upland watershed areas assessment and management potential to meet WRF user-defined objectives with consideration of changing landscape and climate drivers.
Benchmarking Microbial and Chemical Contamination in Source Water Using Hyperspectral Microscopy
Project Objectives
- Develop a state of the science for hyperspectral imaging and highlight its applicability to the municipal One Water sector.
- Assess the sensitivity and accuracy of hyperspectral microscopy to detect microbial pathogens in a variety of impacted source water types (i.e., water, wastewater, reclaimed water, and stormwater) and water quality types (e.g., ranges of hardness, TOC, and alkalinity), and assess the minimum required quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) needed to use the data for monitoring purposes. Pathogens should include but are not limited to Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and E. coli.
- Assess data cleaning, noise reduction, unmixing, and anomaly detection practices needed to refine the database produced.
- Assess the applicability of machine learning to predict microbial species based on hyperspectral imaging.
- Investigate if hyperspectral microscopy can detect chemicals and/or particles (i.e., microplastics, nanoplastics, and nanoparticles) in source water.
Integrating Requirements, Drivers, and Technologies for Enhanced Distribution System Water Quality Monitoring
Project Objectives
- Evaluate existing distribution system water quality monitoring programs designed for different purposes to identify opportunities for integration for future improvements in efficiency and effectiveness.
- Develop comprehensive guidance for designing, implementing, maintaining and using advanced and optimized approaches to manage and monitor water quality in distribution systems.
- Provide actionable recommendations for water utilities and regulators to enhance distribution system water quality monitoring programs and practices in a more integrated manner.
Operationalizing the Benefits of Nature-based Solutions to Inform Decisions in a Changing Climate
Project Objectives
- To assemble quantitative metrics and synthesize or correlate these with existing qualitative metrics used across disciplines to link the benefits of Nature-based Solution (NbS) to design criteria and implementation.
- To compare a variety of innovative NbS applications with conventional approaches according to performance, construction costs, operational costs, and multiple benefits.
- To assist decision-makers with more accurately valuing the benefits and tradeoffs of NbS as part of their holistic water management strategy.
Head-to-Head GHG Measurement Comparisons: Evaluating Plant-wide and Process-specific Quantification Methods
Project Objectives
- To perform greenhouse gas (GHG) measurements using multiple techniques at the same time at two or more water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) to inform the industry of the advantages and disadvantages of each technique.
Identification and Valuation of Innovative Wastewater Residual Products Beyond Conventional Biosolids
Project Objectives
- Identify various end products that can be generated from residuals or biosolids, focusing on emerging and non-conventional products—beyond cake and dried material—that stem from technologies or processes that have been demonstrated at full-scale in trial or recent permanent installations.
- Create tools for utilities to assess the costs and benefits and business case considerations of end products that help inform decision-making, including (1) quantification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from various uses of these products, (2) identification of potential markets for end products, (3) identification of obstacles for product entry into specific potential markets, and (4) prospective valuation of end products.
The Emergence of Artificial Intelligence: Opportunities and Challenges for Water Resources Planning
Project Objectives
- Identify potential uses and benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) in Water Resources Planning to support routine operations and address uncertainties related to changing climate (e.g., supply and demand forecasting, operational technology solutions, etc.).
- Identify potential challenges associated with AI tool implementation and develop guidance for utilities to evaluate options and prepare for future AI use (e.g., modifications to data collection, cleaning, processing procedures).
- Identify and recommend pathways and/or organizational approaches for the water sector to monitor potential uses of AI that could be available in the future.
- Review and catalogue AI tools available or in development that are specific to Water Resources Planning, with an eye towards identifying publicly available and/or open-source tools.
Comprehensive Corrosion Control Strategies for Various Water Infrastructure Materials
Project Objectives
- Develop guidance for corrosion control strategies for various materials commonly found in water distribution systems (mains and service lines) and premise plumbing systems, including non-lead materials.
- Evaluate and compare different corrosion control processes, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages towards the variety of materials found in distribution and plumbing systems.
- Explore the feasibility of reducing, eliminating, or replacing orthophosphate-based corrosion control treatments in post lead service line (LSL) scenarios, assess subsequent impacts on remaining lead-containing and non-lead materials, and evaluate alternatives to orthophosphate for reducing lead and copper in drinking water.
Smart and Connected Energy Management
Project Objectives
- Develop a comprehensive understanding of the current state of smart and connected energy management in water and wastewater utilities.
- Recommend tools and guidance for implementing smart water networks to reduce waste and improve overall energy efficiency.
Optimizing Nature-based Solutions at the Watershed Scale Using Real-time Sensing and Controls
Project Objectives
- Determine the placement of sensors and controls at the watershed/sewershed scale to optimize the performance of nature-based solutions (NbS).
- Optimize NbS implementation for cost efficiency, contaminant pulses, and flow modulation.
- Determine the feasibility of matching contaminant peaks with infiltration-based measures for enhanced performance.
Investigating Progression Pathways Across the Water Workforce
Project Objectives
- Develop a baseline understanding for career movement across disciplines, organizations, and skillsets.
- Identify potential catalysts and barriers for career progression in the water sector.
- Identify progression programs, models, and key factors for successful implementation.