“Evaluating the Economic Implications of Low Flow Augmentation on the Ohio River” | W912HZ 22 SOI 0022

Opportunity Information: Apply for W912HZ 22 SOI 0022

The grant opportunity "Evaluating the Economic Implications of Low Flow Augmentation on the Ohio River" is a Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers research effort focused on understanding the economic value of river flows that are unintentionally boosted by routine releases from flood risk management reservoirs. The Corps operates more than 80 flood risk management reservoirs across the Ohio River Basin. Although these reservoirs are built and managed primarily to reduce flood damages, they also release water during normal operations in ways that can increase downstream flows. In certain periods, those releases mean the Ohio River can run higher than it would have under purely natural conditions. The Corps is interested in whether those higher flows create real, measurable benefits for communities and river users, and whether those benefits can be identified and, when possible, translated into dollar values that are not currently being captured in planning or decision-making.

The central goal is to quantify how much reservoir operations influence low flow conditions along the mainstem Ohio River and to determine whether the resulting flow augmentation produces economically meaningful benefits. The work is geographically centered on projects within the Ohio River Basin and on benefits that occur along the mainstem Ohio River, especially near the lock and dam system. At the same time, the Corps is clearly signaling that it wants methods that travel well: the analytical approach should be repeatable and broadly applicable to other reservoir-influenced river systems across the United States, not just the Ohio.

At a minimum, the study must examine benefits related to municipal wastewater treatment and water supply. The rationale is straightforward: higher river flows can dilute pollutant concentrations and potentially reduce the effort or cost required for wastewater dischargers to meet permit limits, and they can also improve the reliability and availability of source water for municipal or other withdrawals. Beyond these required topics, the Corps views it as a plus if the work also addresses other categories of river use that may benefit from augmented flows, such as industrial dischargers, navigation (for example, fewer low-water delays or constraints), hydropower (more generation hours or improved operating conditions), and recreation. The notice also encourages some consideration of climate change and how future hydrology could affect the magnitude or frequency of low-flow augmentation benefits over time.

The anticipated technical work starts with hydrology: compiling existing flow information, reconciling datasets, and creating defensible processes to address missing data or gaps. A key deliverable is a comparison between observed flows (what actually occurred with reservoir operations) and natural flows (an estimate of what would have occurred without the reservoir releases) at each mainstem Ohio River lock and dam. This comparison is to be conducted for the period from 1990 to the present, and it must include reporting of common flow statistics that can serve as the foundation for later economic calculations. In practical terms, this implies building a consistent time series framework, developing or adopting an approach to estimate the "without project" naturalized flow condition, and then summarizing how the distributions of low flows and related metrics differ between observed and naturalized scenarios.

Once the flow differences are characterized, the economic analysis phase evaluates whether those differences are large enough and frequent enough to translate into positive benefits for the targeted users. For wastewater treatment, that could involve exploring how incremental flow increases change dilution capacity, compliance risk, or treatment requirements for municipal plants, and then translating those changes into cost savings or avoided costs where feasible. For water supply, the analysis would look at whether augmented flows reduce shortages, improve intake operability, reduce the need for alternative supplies, or otherwise increase reliability, again with an emphasis on monetization when practicable. If the project expands into navigation, hydropower, recreation, or industrial dischargers, it would similarly need to link hydrologic changes to operational outcomes and then to economic value using defensible, repeatable methods.

The expected outcome is not only a set of findings for the Ohio River, but also a documented, repeatable analytical process that can be reused by the Corps and partners on other rivers where reservoir operations influence downstream low flows. The final products are expected to include a comprehensive final report, and the opportunity notes that preparing manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication should be considered where appropriate, signaling an interest in transparency, methodological rigor, and broader scientific credibility.

Administratively, this is a discretionary opportunity with funding provided through a cooperative agreement, indicating that the Corps anticipates substantial involvement or collaboration during the project rather than a hands-off grant. The opportunity is listed under CFDA 12.630 and categorized as science and technology and other research and development. The funding opportunity number is W912HZ 22 SOI 0022. The posting indicates a single expected award with an award ceiling of $45,000. The original announcement dates show it was created on June 2, 2022, with an original closing date of August 1, 2022. Eligibility is labeled broadly as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the full eligibility text, suggesting the pool may include non-federal research organizations, universities, nonprofits, or other qualified entities depending on the specific eligibility language in the official notice.

• The Department of Defense, Dept. of the Army -- Corps of Engineers in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "“Evaluating the Economic Implications of Low Flow Augmentation on the Ohio River”" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.630.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 02, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 01, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $45,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for W912HZ 22 SOI 0022

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