Grant
5394 - Evaluating Scalability, Reproducibility, and Impact of GenAI and Agentic AI in the Water and Wastewater Sector
Grant Information
Project Objectives
- Identify ways for utilities to overcome key barriers to the adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) and Agentic AI, including actionable guardrails such as integrating cybersecurity protocols into operations, implementing secure development practices into model training and deployment, and adopting and applying the National Institute of Standards and Technology AI risk management framework core functions, which help ensure secure AI deployment (NIST 2016).
- Identify a minimum of four unique and meaningful GenAI pilot applications within the water/wastewater sector and implement each application at two additional utilities. Document the transfer process, data governance and data quality requirements, operational insights, lessons learned on reproducibility, and early impacts of each demonstration. One application should focus on knowledge transfer and training.
- Catalogue Agentic AI applications currently in use within the water/wastewater sector and capture key lessons learned and early impacts from each application.
- Reproduce one low-effort Agentic AI application at another utility and document the transfer process and lessons learned.
WRF RFP Contact: Sydney Samples
For instructions on how to submit proposals, refer to these instructions or this video.
The Potential Participants listed at the bottom of this page have indicated interest in participating in this research. This information is updated frequently as utilities are encouraged to volunteer throughout the RFP cycle.
Documents
| Title | Action |
|---|---|
2026 Guidelines For Emerging Opportunities Research Program | |
Certification and Assurance Form | |
Current and Pending Form | |
Financial & Grant Management Researcher Guidelines | |
Financial Grant Management Capabilities Form | |
Instructions for Budget Preparation | |
Proposal Budget Form |
| Title | Action |
|---|---|
RFP-5394.pdf |
Potential Participants
| Name & Address | Contact & Title | Contact Email & Phone | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority 6 Snake Road Okatie SC 29909-3937 United States | Deirdre Blackard Asset Management Program Manager | deedee.blackard@bjwsa.org +1 (843) 226-2968 | |
City of Phoenix Water Services Department 200 W Washington Street, 9th Fl. Phoenix AZ 85003-1611 United States | Ling-Xiao Wang Civil Engineer III | ling.xiao.wang@phoenix.gov +1 (602) 262-6627 | |
Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati 1600 Gest St. Cincinnati OH 45204 United States | Scott Bessler Superintendent | scott.bessler@cincinnati-oh.gov +1 (513) 557-7016 | |
Renewable Water Resources 561 Mauldin Rd. Greenville SC 29607 United States | Thomas Solon Process Optimization and Planning Manager | thomass@re-wa.org +1 (864) 280-3460 | |
Toronto Water 9 Leslie St. Toronto ON M4M 3M9 Canada | Faisal Haq Shaheen Manager | faisal.shaheen@toronto.ca +1 (416) 392-5614 |