Evaluating Non-floodplain Wetlands for Flood-Risk Reduction and Nutrient Mediation in the Mississippi River Basin | W81EWF 20 SOI 0037

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81EWF 20 SOI 0037

The grant opportunity titled "Evaluating Non-floodplain Wetlands for Flood-Risk Reduction and Nutrient Mediation in the Mississippi River Basin" is a research-focused cooperative agreement led by the Department of Defense through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), working in coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The central idea is to improve how non-floodplain wetlands (NFWs) are represented in large watershed analyses, because these wetlands can store water on the landscape and potentially reduce downstream flood peaks, while also influencing how nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus move through river networks. The problem the opportunity is trying to address is that many existing watershed modeling approaches do not explicitly represent these smaller depressional wetlands and related water-storage features well, which limits confidence in flood-risk and water-quality predictions at large basin scales such as the Mississippi River Basin.

The project is organized around building the data and modeling foundation needed to quantify two main benefits of NFWs: (1) flood-risk reduction through temporary water storage and altered flow routing, and (2) nutrient mediation, meaning how storage and flowpaths interact with nutrient sources to change nutrient loading and concentrations in streams. A major emphasis is on improving spatial representation using high-resolution geospatial products and then integrating those products into a process-based watershed model (the opportunity cites SWAT, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool, as an example). The work is intended to move beyond conceptual assumptions by directly mapping depressions, inundation extents, drainage catchments, and flowpaths, and then using those mapped features to drive model behavior across multiple major sub-basins.

The anticipated work begins with development of a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP), which is the formal document that lays out quality assurance and quality control procedures and defines how the project will ensure the resulting datasets, model runs, and analyses meet stated performance criteria. From there, the project develops a high-resolution inundation and flowpath dataset (on the order of 1-meter resolution) using LiDAR and aerial and/or satellite imagery for three large regions: the Upper Mississippi River Basin, the Missouri River Basin, and the Ohio River Basin. This dataset is expected to include mapped depressions and small water bodies, stream networks, flowpaths, inundation characterization, and delineated drainage catchments contributing to depressions. These layers are then consolidated into GIS-ready products to serve as inputs for modeling.

Next, the project builds a parameterized, process-based watershed model that starts in the Upper Mississippi River Basin and then expands to the Missouri and Ohio River basins. A key technical requirement is that the model directly integrates the mapped small depressions, water bodies, and their contributing catchments so they are not treated as incidental or lumped features. The models are then calibrated, verified, and validated over multiple years using existing monitoring and observational datasets from USGS, EPA, and USACE, covering both hydrologic flows and nutrient measures, with particular attention to nitrogen and phosphorus. After the model is functioning and tested, the project uses multiple model runs to quantify watershed-scale water yields and nutrient yields across the basins, with the explicit goal of estimating how much NFWs can reduce flood risk and how they affect excess nutrient export.

A major component of the opportunity is uncertainty analysis, recognizing that decisions based on large-scale models depend on knowing where predictions are more reliable and where they are less certain. Separate uncertainty analysis tasks are laid out for each basin (Upper Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri). These tasks focus on documenting uncertainty tied to data inputs and model parameters, then translating that into practical reporting that identifies watersheds with low, medium, and high uncertainty for outcomes relevant to water-quality management, pollution prevention, and flood-risk mitigation. This framing signals that the grant is not only about producing model outputs, but also about making those outputs interpretable and usable for management and planning.

The deliverables align closely with the task structure. Expected products include: the completed QAPP; spatially explicit GIS raster layers representing inundation, depressions, flowpaths, and catchments for all three basins; a parameterized hydrologic/water-quality model package (including input layers and code) covering the Upper Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio basins; quantified hydrologic and nutrient yields with synthesized findings on NFW-related flood and nutrient reduction capacity (especially for nitrogen and phosphorus species); one or more draft scientific journal manuscripts coordinated with ERDC and the ERDC/EPA research team; and three basin-specific uncertainty reports that categorize watersheds by uncertainty level and document how uncertainty affects interpretation of model results.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement mechanism (which typically implies substantial involvement and coordination with the federal research team during execution). The opportunity number is W81EWF 20 SOI 0037, the CFDA listing is 12.630, and the sponsoring agency is the Department of Defense, Engineer Research and Development Center. The posting indicates an award ceiling of $250,000 and an expectation of a single award. The original posting dates show a creation date of July 21, 2020, and an original closing date of September 18, 2020. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with additional eligibility specifics referenced in the full announcement materials.

• The Department of Defense, Engineer Research and Development Center in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Evaluating Non-floodplain Wetlands for Flood-Risk Reduction and Nutrient Mediation in the Mississippi River Basin" 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 Jul 21, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 18, 2020. (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 $250,000.00 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).

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