Bureau of Reclamation Grant for Lake Powell Evaporation Study

In addition to providing a substantial amount of eddy-covariance equipment for the duration of the project, the DRI will be manufacturing and installing all equipment over the water at Lake Powell. The DRI will be collecting initial measurements, processing data, evaluating equipment performance and producing the final project report. For each of the tasks that the DRI will be responsible for, they will also be training Reclamation personnel on how to complete the tasks for similar projects in the future.

RECLAMATION INVOLVEMENT

Substantial involvement on the part Reclamation is anticipated for the successful completion of the research objectives. The routine functions that the DRI will be initially responsible for such as equipment installation and maintenance, data collection, post processing of data, data analysis, and evaporation estimates will be handled by Reclamation after training has been completed. From the beginning of the project Reclamation will be involved in project management and will collaborating with DRI in each phase of the project.

Reclamation did not solicit full and open competition for this award based the following criteria:

(4) UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS
(1) UNSOLICITED PROPOSAL
(2) CONTINUATION

Single Source Justification Description:

The Desert Research Institute is uniquely qualified to perform under this award based upon their unique experience with evaporation measurement equipment including eddy-covariance equipment. They have extensive experience with in-situ evaporation station installations, data processing, and evaporation rate estimating. They have worked extensively with Reclamation’s Technical Service Center to conduct evaporation studies on other Reclamation reservoirs and on the installation of eddy-covariance towers for agricultural water use studies. They were also selected due to their willingness to conduct training for Reclamation personnel on the station installations, data processing and analysis. This is a continuation of labor costs for the project funded under a different award.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY

SEC. 9509. RESEARCH AGREEMENT AUTHORITY.
The Secretary may enter into contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements, for periods not to exceed 5 years, to carry out research within the Bureau of Reclamation.

Glen Canyon, its construction and operation, was authorized under the Colorado River Storage Project Act (1956), in accordance with the Reclamation Act (1902) to meet water delivery requirements under the Colorado River Compact (1922). Operational decisions and water accounting at Glen Canyon, which directly impact compact delivery requirements, are made in part based on evaporation estimates. As stated above, the primary purpose of this project is to update evaporation estimate methods at Lake Powell. By improving evaporation estimates the proposed agreement will enhance operations at Glen Canyon. As such, the proposed project and cooperative agreement with DRI falls under aforementioned authorities.