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Research Goals

Reclamation’s current research and development goals for advanced water treatment technologies come from the 2008 National Academy of Sciences report:  Desalination, A National Perspective.  They are to:

1. Understand environmental impacts and develop approaches to minimize these impacts relative to other water supply alternatives
   
   
2. Lower costs so advanced treatment is an attractive option relative to other alternatives in locations where traditional sources of water are inadequate

Our purpose is to advance the state-of-the-art high risk applied research and development and to enhance non-Federal partnerships to accelerate the implementation of improved technologies.  Additionally, reducing institutional barriers and increasing technology transfer activities that can accelerate implementation of these technologies are important aspects of these goals. 

What are the overall research goals?

Strategy and Goals

Strategy Statement:  To increase the nation’s ‘new’ water by understanding and minimizing environmental impacts and decreasing costs of advanced water treatment technologies to generate widespread benefits in the interest of the American public.

Goals:

• Provide technical assistance to states and water organizations so that they may take better advantage of advanced water treatment technologies to meet their needs, while protecting the environment.
  
  
• Facilitate planning and implementation of regional solutions to water supply and quality management where they provide most cost-effective, environmentally sound, and equitable solutions to water and salinity management.
  
  
• Provide assistance to Tribes and others having a trust relationship with the Department of the Interior so that they may take better advantage of advanced water treatment technologies.

Research Priorities

Advanced water treatment is one of our few opportunties to create new water supplies for both inland and coastal areas.  Research and innovation are needed to bring these new water supplies to the American West to help fulfill Reclamation's mission.

National Research Council Final Desalination: A National Perspective (15 mb pdf)

Previous research priority setting

• National Academy of Sciences: Potential for Expanding the Nation’s Water Supply
  through Reuse of Municipal Wastewater. lists research needs (2011)
  
  
• Desalination Roadmap (1 mb pdf) Desalination and Water Purification Research (DWPR) Report 95, 2003
  
  
• Desalination Implementation Roadmap (1 mb pdf) (2003) This document builds on the original Desalination and Water Purification Technology Roadmap.
  
  
• Value of Water: Roundtable Report (2003)