Federal Authorization Requirements

The Water Resources Research Act Amendments of 2006 (42 USC §§10301-10309) reauthorized the Water Resources Research Institutes’ program through 2011. Special emphasis was placed on the importance of research and education aimed at improving the nation’s water supply. This new focus suggests that the Water Research Institutes should ensure that their assessments of performance provide evidence that the Institutes are accomplishing statutory purposes.

Under this reauthorization each institute shall-

(1) plan, conduct, or otherwise arrange for competent applied and peer-reviewed research that fosters

(A) improvements in water supply reliability;

(B) the exploration of new ideas that

(i) address water problems or

(ii) expand understanding of water and water-related phenomena;

(C) the entry of new research scientists, engineers, and technicians into water resources fields; and

(D) the dissemination of research results to water managers and the public.

(2) Reports

The Secretary shall report to Congress annually on coordination efforts with other

Federal departments, agencies, and instrumentalities under paragraph (1). As part of the annual budget submission to Congress, the Secretary shall also provide a crosscut budget detailing the expenditures on activities listed under subsection (a)(1) and a report which details the level of applied research and the results of the activities authorized by this Act, including potential and actual –

(A) increases in annual water supplies;

(B) increases in annual water yields;

(C) advances in water infrastructure and water quality improvements; and

(D) methods for identifying, and determining the effectiveness of,

treatment technologies and efficiencies.

 

Projects funded by the Maine Water Resources Research Institute must produce results that coincide with one or more of these performance metrics:

 

Applied and Practical Research

  1. “applied water supply research”
  2. “applied and peer-reviewed research”
  3. “quality and relevance of its water research”
  4. “address water problems”
  5. “effectiveness at producing measured results”

Education

  1. “entry of new research scientists, engineers, and technicians into water resources fields”

Outreach

  1. “dissemination of research results to water managers and the public”
  2. “potential and actual increases in annual water supplies”

Water Supply (Quantity)

  1. “applied water supply research”
  2. “potential and actual increases in annual water yields”
  3. “expand understanding of water and water related phenomena”

Water Quality

  1. “potential and actual advances in water quality improvements”

Water Supply Reliability

  1. “improvements in water supply reliability”

Water Infrastructure and Technology

  1. “potential and actual advances in water infrastructure improvements”
  2. “methods for identifying and determining the effectiveness of treatment technologies and efficiencies”