Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit
USGS is funding a CESU partner to conduct water-quality research and modeling on harmful algal blooms and related cyanotoxins in reservoirs and river reaches of the Lower Colorado River system.
⚑ Eligible applicants must be participating partners of the Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU). · Award ceiling is $150,000. · Cooperative agreement mechanism.
This is applied aquatic environmental modeling and water-quality/HAB research, which is outside IPPRA’s core social-behavioral risk, policy, education, weather, and energy portfolio. There is no obvious team member whose published line centers on reservoir ecology or algal bloom modeling.
JUDGED AGAINST THE ROSTER'S PUBLICATION DOSSIER · GPT-5.4-MINI · 2026-11-06
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 55 good | technical depth: substantial; funds applied research |
| IPPRA | 45 partial | portfolio topics: water_resources, environment, public_health (primary); social/behavioral work is none; funds applied research; university can only partner, not lead; capped at 45 (limited social-science role) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 25 weak | funds applied research; deep-tech content |
Description
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Arizona Water Science Center (AZWSC) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research related to water quality modeling in reservoirs and free-flowing sections of the Colorado River from Lake Powell to the delta. Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are increasingly affecting freshwater systems across the western United States, and the Lower Colorado River has emerged as a hotspot of concern. Historically oligotrophic and clear reservoirs have experienced significant cyanobacterial bloom events in the past decade, including documented microcystin (a potent algal toxin) concentrations over a hundred times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency's limit for safe recreational exposure.
Eligibility
This financial assistance opportunity is being issued under a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) Program. CESU's are partnerships that provide research, technical assistance, and education. Eligible recipients must be a participating partner of the Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: Geological Survey <katherine_calder@ios.doi.gov>
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