Researchers get water study grant

SALT LAKE CITY — A team of Utah and Wyoming researchers has received a $6 million National Science Foundation grant to study natural and human water resource systems.

Researchers will use the three-year grant to increase their understanding of environmental sustainability and long-term water forecasting issues in both states.

The CI-WATER project includes researchers from Brigham Young University, the University of Utah, Utah State University, and the University of Wyoming.

The award is from the foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, which supports states' research, science and mathematics education, and workforce development.

BYU civil and environmental professor Norm Jones says researchers will use high-performance computer models and other resources to study how population growth, land uses and climate variability impact water storage and availability in the Intermountain West.