Grant

• Assess the impacts of emergency flow requirements, which include both storage and flow capacity, for fire protection and other natural disasters on water quality by examining how infrastructure modifications such as increased storage, larger pipes, and expanded transmission capacity affect key water quality parameters.
• Identify and analyze the trade-offs utilities face in balancing flow capacity needs for fire protection and other natural disaster resilience with maintaining safe drinking water standards, considering diverse contexts including urban, suburban, and rural settings.
• Develop and highlight effective design strategies and best practices that balance emergency storage and flow capacity with water quality maintenance, supporting both public health and emergency response objectives.
• Provide practical recommendations for infrastructure planning to help utilities optimize a water distribution system design that effectively supports both emergency response requirements and water quality without imposing unnecessary regulatory and operational burdens.
• Create clear communication tools for utilities to help the public and elected officials understand the delicate balance between water quality, emergency storage, flow capacity, and water conservation.

WRF RFP Contact: Grace Jang

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.