October 23, 2014
Water Quality Benefits
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, announces
the posting of the Request for Applications (RFA), Water Quality Benefits. Its goal is to advance knowledge of how
changes in water quality, including incremental or step improvements, can be valued at appropriate spatial scales
for the Nation's inland fresh water small streams, lakes and rivers, estuaries, coastal waters and the Great Lakes.
The Agency is interested in supporting research that evaluates how measurable attributes of water quality
improvements can be translated into human benefits and values, either directly or through indicators.
The research should help public decision makers at the state and local levels, as well as private decision makers
and stakeholders by quantifying the behavioral and socioeconomic consequences of water quality regulations and
related policy options across a full range of ecological and economic endpoints.
This RFA supports the National Program, Safe and Sustainable Water Resources (SSWR), which provides technologies
and the science needed for protecting and maintaining drinking water sources and systems and the physical,
biological and chemical integrity of our water. SSWR's two main research areas are sustainable water resources and
infrastructure. Sustainable water resources integrate social, economic and environmental research to protect and
restore water resources for drinking water, industrial processes, recreation amongst other uses.
Sustainable water infrastructure promotes a healthier and more effective network of wastewater, drinking water and
stormwater systems. SSWR research helps utility companies provide reliable service that meets Clean Water Act and
Safe Drinking Water Act requirements. It also provides the scientific foundation for local, state and federal
decision makers when dealing with water resource management.
For more information,
Click here.