Design and Deployment of Engineering With Nature® (EWN) Solutions for Western Resilience

Required Work Objectives: The following objectives are required for this CESU-funded project, which is to better understand the design and deployment of EWN solutions for western resilience. Year one (1) will establish the initial structure of the project and includes tasks that support the following objectives. If funded, year two (2) and year (3) would continue to expand major elements of the project and build a diverse portfolio of collaborative EWN projects and engagements. Objective 1: Development of decision-ready models that advance EWN and the deployment/use of natural infrastructure. This objective prioritizes and subsequently builds a suite of diverse, collaborative R&D projects that expands current research efforts within EWN portfolio. For example, projects pursued may be focused on advancing the development of models and decision analyses for assessing the costs and benefits associated with the deployment of natural infrastructure to balance water supplies and improve flood control. Research that focuses on increasing storage and flood protection in a) wetlands, swamps and associated riparia, b) overdrawn aquifers, and c) on farmlands and forests on public and private lands is also encouraged. The breadth of projects is strengthened by the caliber of multi-disciplinary researchers that integrate capabilities, resources, and expertise to target very deliberative endpoints that advance EWN research. During the first year, it is anticipated that researchers associated with USACE and the selected team will initiate 3-5 R&D EWN projects, which ultimately lead to expanded technology transfer opportunities. Objective 2: Identification and Proposed Use of EWN Techniques and Natural Infrastructure to Facilitate Improvements to Land Use and Water Management. Water is in high demand in the southwestern US. As such, it is imperative that new methods be identified to conserve, equitably distribute, and improve the quality of water. Innovative approaches to land use and associated practices in water management are important factors that should be considered in achieving these previously described outcomes. Research within this objective will explore use of innovative EWN approaches on a basin scale and identify opportunities for deploying natural infrastructure in a way that results in environmental and social benefits across a variety of land uses – central to these EWN approaches is the goal of improving water management/security (i.e., conservation, equitable distribution and water quality improvements). Moreover, research activities will focus on the identification and analysis of cost-effective natural infrastructure with assessments for how this infrastructure could be distributed to deliver value to historically under-represented communities. Finally, this objective seeks to establish research projects that integrate a diverse number of collaborators, in addition to the core participants (i.e., members of the successful team and USACE’s EWN researchers). It is expected that 2 to 3 projects would be identified and actively pursued in the first year. Objective 3: Launch and Operate EWN Communication Platform for Enhanced Public Communication. A successful communication platform will result in the timely delivery of informational products and/or engagements across the EWN network. This objective seeks to optimize and integrate the collaborators’ proven methods of delivering products and/or successful engagements that advance EWN strategic outcomes for the public benefit. Example products include, but are not limited to: workshops, symposia, news articles, videos, documentaries, graphics, reporting of case studies, technical notes, journal articles, etc. The selected team will work with EWN leadership and researchers to prepare most (if not all) of the referenced products. During the first year, it is expected that a minimum of 2 workshops/symposia, 1 video, 2 or 3 tech notes and 2 journal articles will be produced through a highly successful collaboration. The products derived from this collaboration are expected to generate EWN educational and public outreach opportunities. A successful application would likely include a team of investigators with knowledge in a broad array of disciplines including, but not limited to hydrology and hydraulics; multi-objective optimization; flood mitigation; water supply planning; reservoir operations; watershed, flood, and sediment transport modeling; decision support tools; forest fires, and forest management. Additionally, experience should include, but not be limited to the following: Engineering With Nature®; development, design, and implementation of nature-based strategies and best management practices; erosion and reservoir infilling, modeling of restoration projects; incorporating human-use benefits into infrastructure projects; quantifying benefits derived from restoration projects; and modeling of riverine and reservoir systems.

Funding Opportunity Number: W81EWF-21-SOI-0016. Assistance Listing: 12.630. Funding Instrument: CA. Category: ST. Award Amount: Up to $1.5M per award.