Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

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.