Nitrate Reduction Potential via Reservoir Water Level Management in Central Iowa | W81EWF 21 SOI 0001

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81EWF 21 SOI 0001

The grant opportunity titled "Nitrate Reduction Potential via Reservoir Water Level Management in Central Iowa" is a U.S. Department of Defense, Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) cooperative agreement focused on whether day-to-day and seasonal operations at Lake Red Rock can be adjusted to lower nitrate leaving the reservoir. Lake Red Rock is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Des Moines River built primarily for flood risk management, but recent updates to its Water Control Manual and the creation of a "conservation band" have added flexibility in how water levels can be managed. That new flexibility opens the door to operating the reservoir not only for flood control, but also in ways that could improve ecosystem conditions in the reservoir and downstream river by targeting environmental outcomes that depend on water levels, inundation timing, and wetland connectivity.

The underlying problem is that the Des Moines River watershed is heavily agricultural (dominated by corn and soybean row crops), and it transports substantial nitrogen loads downstream, contributing both to local drinking water challenges and to larger regional issues like Gulf of Mexico hypoxia. Nitrate is a specific concern downstream at Ottumwa, Iowa, where the river serves as a drinking water source and is impaired for nitrate-nitrogen. At the same time, Red Rock itself is experiencing water quality degradation from sediment and nutrient accumulation, including harmful algal blooms and elevated E. coli that reduce recreational value and can harm biodiversity. Prior research on other Iowa reservoirs (notably Saylorville) indicates reservoirs can reduce nitrate concentrations and loads, with denitrification identified in the literature as a potentially dominant nitrogen removal pathway compared to algal uptake or sedimentation. This opportunity is designed to test whether similar nitrate removal benefits can be strengthened at Red Rock by intentionally managing reservoir hydrology and water levels to promote denitrification, especially in the reservoir delta and associated wetlands.

The project is structured in three phases that build from mapping and baseline understanding to field monitoring and then to analysis and communication of management implications. Phase One relies mainly on existing operational and geospatial datasets to characterize the Red Rock delta geomorphology and to establish baseline nutrient conditions in water and sediments. The delta will be mapped and analyzed using historical aerial imagery, pool stage (water level) records, LiDAR elevation data, and lake survey information to determine the size, elevation patterns, and inundation frequency of wetlands and other delta features that could support denitrification. Sampling and existing monitoring data are used to describe baseline biogeochemical conditions across the roughly 10,000-acre delta and adjacent lake sediments, including whether delta waters are mixing in ways that influence nitrate patterns. Phase One also requires a targeted literature review emphasizing reservoir denitrification studies that connect nitrogen dynamics to reservoir operations, with the review explicitly intended to identify what is well understood, what remains uncertain, and how additional fieldwork could reduce those uncertainties. The main Phase One product is a shared, spatially explicit delta delineation that classifies the delta into areas with common attributes (such as soils, elevations, and land classifications) so that managers and scientists can more clearly link pool level decisions to ecological and biogeochemical responses. A short ERDC Technical Note (under 10 pages, excluding references) documenting the methods, literature review results, and delta delineation conclusions is due within about four months of the CESU award.

Phases Two and Three are conditional, meaning they proceed only if Phase One successfully produces a useful delta delineation and the literature review shows clear value in collecting new field data. Phase Two is the primary data-collection component, spanning two field years of continuous nitrogen biogeochemistry monitoring at three locations in Lake Red Rock. Monitoring stations include a perennial wetland site to track nitrate dynamics in both sediments and the water column during the growing season, and an offshore station adjacent to that wetland to compare nitrate behavior in reservoir sediments and open water conditions. The design also anticipates moving (relocating) the wetland and reservoir stations to delta wetlands during periods when the delta is flooded, including times associated with waterfowl migration, to capture how episodic inundation changes nitrate processing. Additional nitrate sampling along transects or at randomized delta points is used to test whether nitrate concentrations are relatively uniform across delta waters (a practical check on mixing and interpretation of monitoring results). Deliverables for Phase Two are brief annual in-progress reports plus annual and final datasets suitable for management and research use.

Phase Three focuses on turning the combined evidence into decision-relevant outputs. This includes analyzing newly collected field data alongside existing data about denitrification in reservoirs, then translating results into technical reports and communication products aimed at improving reservoir management practices for nitrate reduction. The core deliverable is a final report in an ERDC Technical Report format, supported as appropriate by webinars and conference presentations, with peer-reviewed journal publications encouraged to broaden the impact beyond this single reservoir. Overall, the grant is framed as part of a larger Sustainable Rivers Program effort to better connect reservoir operations with measurable environmental outcomes, so the expectation is that findings will help guide future operations at Lake Red Rock and offer transferable lessons for similar Midwestern reservoirs.

Administratively, this is a discretionary opportunity with one expected award and an award ceiling of $50,000, offered as a cooperative agreement under CFDA 12.630. The opportunity number is W81EWF 21 SOI 0001, the agency is the Department of Defense (ERDC), and the original closing date listed is January 2, 2021. The eligibility category is listed broadly as "Others," with further clarification typically provided in the full notice under additional eligibility information.

• The Department of Defense, Engineer Research and Development Center in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Nitrate Reduction Potential via Reservoir Water Level Management in Central Iowa" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.630.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 10, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 02, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $50,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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