The U.S. Geological Survey will award up to $4 million in cooperative agreements to support participation in the National Ground-Water Monitoring Network (NGWMN).

The USGS is working with the Federal Advisory Committee on Water Information’s subcommittee on groundwater to develop and administer the NGWMN. The NGWMN is designed as a cooperative groundwater data collection, management and reporting system that will be based on data from selected wells in existing federal, state, tribal and local groundwater monitoring networks. The network is envisioned as a long-term collaborative partnership among federal and non-federal data providers that will help address present and future groundwater management questions facing the nation.

Cooperative agreements will provide support for both new and existing data providers in the NGWMN. The USGS will fund new data providers to select and classify sites within existing monitoring programs, to set up Web services that will link the data to the NGWMN Portal, and to produce a report describing this process.

Existing data providers will receive funds to maintain Web services and keep site information current. Data providers may also receive funding to collect data to improve site information, to maintain wells and to drill new or replacement network wells.

Interested agencies may apply online at Grants.gov under funding opportunity number G16AS00043. Applications will be accepted through May 31, 2016. 

A webinar is scheduled for May 3 at 2 p.m. ET to review the application package and answer any question about the opportunity. Registration for the webinars is required. After your registration is accepted, you will receive meeting information. You may register for the webinar at: https://usgs.webex.com/usgs/j.php?RGID=ref1581be2ef44f102d46946e0b0dc5d0