History of the Virginia Water Resources Research Center

The Water Resources Research Act and the Establishment of the Virginia Water Resources Research Center

The Virginia Water Resources Research Center was established under the Water Resources Research Act of 1964,¹ which was signed into law on July 17, 1964, by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The legislation can be traced to the establishment of the Senate Select Committee on National Water Resources in the late 1950s.² Title I of the Act provided for the establishment of State Water Resources Research Institutes or Centers in each of the 50 states and Puerto Rico. The Act stipulated that these centers or institutes were to be located at the 1862 land grant institutions of each state unless otherwise designated by the state legislature. Congress’ 1965 appropriation bill only provided funding for 14 centers and institutes in the states, which were to be selected on a competitive basis. Those selected were at institutions that already had an ongoing program in water resources research. Virginia was not among the original 14. Appropriated funds were available to match, on a dollar-for-dollar basis with funds made available to institutes by States or other non-Federal sources for specific water resources research projects and programs of the centers and institutes. Initially, the program was administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Water Resources Research.

The Water Resources Research Act centers and institutes were intended to enlist the intellectual powers of universities and research institutes in a nationwide effort to conserve and utilize our water resources “in order to assist in assuring the Nation at all times of a supply of water sufficient in quantity and quality to meet the requirements of its expanding population, [and] to stimulate, sponsor, provide for, and supplement present programs for the conduct of research, investigations, experiments, and the training of scientists in the fields of water and of resources which affect water.” The theme of training of scientists in water resources came from the Report of the Senate Select Committee on National Water Resources,³ which recognized that there was “limited availability of competent research scientists” in water research, and that “additional steps may be necessary to see that our colleges and universities expand their training facilities, and get increasing numbers of competent people to select this field in order that the additional research can be carried out.”

After the 1964 federal legislation was passed, Dr. T. Marshall Hahn, Jr., the president of Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI; as it was named at this time) worked closely with the then governor, Albertis S. Harrison, Jr. to have a water center located at VPI. On May 7, 1965, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed by the Director of the Office of Water Resources Research establishing a water center at VPI. In the formal application for the creation of the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, the purpose of the Center was to:

• Coordinate, stimulate, and sponsor interdisciplinary activities at VPI and throughout the state,
• Coordinate and stimulate graduate education in water resource management whenever it can be beneficial,
• Provide a focal point and direction for research and educational activities in Virginia related to water resources, and
• Provide a formal contact with agencies, public and private, in and outside of Virginia to further the development of the water resources programs.

In May 1964, a Statewide Advisory Committee was formed to enable state and federal agencies, local governments, concerned citizens, and the industrial community concerned with water resources development in the Commonwealth to have direct communication with the Center. On August 13, 1964, President Hahn received official notification from Governor Harrison that the Water Center was officially recognized. In late 1964, an Administrative Committee was formed and made up of Dr. Warren Brandt, vice-president, Academic Affairs; Dr. Wilson Bell, Dean of Agriculture; and Dr. Willis Worcester, Dean of Engineering. This committee was to develop policy for the new center. Also, a Technical Advisory Committee was formed with representation from the various disciplines on campus that had an interest in water resources. William R. Walker was designated as secretary to both committees and was given administration responsibility for implementing the Center. Walker began at Virginia Tech in 1964 to fill in for a professor in civil engineering and had only planned on staying for nine months.⁴ Because the Virginia Water Resources Research Center was not among the original 14, funding for the other 37 centers (including Virginia) was not approved by Congress until May 7, 1965.

In September 1965, Walker was appointed Director of the Center. This was a half time position but there was consideration given to making it a full-time position in the beginning. This position and a full-time clerical assistant were paid from the allotment program monies. On July 1, 1968, the Administrative Committee met and recommended the position of Director be a full-time position and that the director would report to the Dean of Research. Beginning in 1969, oversight of the Center was with the newly established Research Division at Virginia Tech. The Technical Advisory Committee continued to support the director for several years following the Center’s establishment.

Changes to the Federal Program

In 1974, the Office of Water Resources Research, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, merged with the Office of Saline Water and was renamed the Office of Water Research and Technology.⁵ On October 17, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Water Research and Development Act of 1978,⁶ which was administered by the Office of Water Research and Technology. This law repealed the Water Resources Research Act of 1964 and its amendments. Under the new Act, the water resources institutes and centers program were changed to expand the scope of the institutes’ function. Instead of focusing on research, the institutes were to look at development and were designated as “research and technology institutes.” The state water centers and institutes were to work with the Secretary of Interior to develop 5-year water resources research and development goals and objectives. State institutes and centers were to carry out a program of technology transfer and/or information dissemination for the “…purpose of transferring research and development results to other organizations for further development, demonstration, and practical applications.” Cost sharing was implemented for the grant program. The Department of Interior implemented a research assessment and technology transfer program “…which transfer[ed] research and development results to other organizations and individuals for further development and practical application to water and water-related problems.”

The Water Research and Development Act extended certain authorities of the Secretary of Interior and the programs of the Office of Water Research and Technology until the end of fiscal year 1982. When the authorization ended in 1982, President Ronald Reagan did not reauthorize the program and the administration did not include funds in its budget. On August 25, 1982, the Acting Secretary of the Interior terminated the Office of Water Research and Technology, transferring the remaining functions of the Office to the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the Office of Water Policy.

Following the termination of the Office of Water Research and Technology, Congress repealed the Water Research and Development Act. However, due to strong Congressional support, the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 was established over President Reagan’s veto. The Secretary of the Interior delegated administration of the program to the USGS, expanding it to include the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. This expansion eventually led to a total 54 centers and institutes. The 1984 Act has been reauthorized and amended multiple times.⁷

Under the reauthorized and amended legislation, water centers and institutes coordinate applications and awards for the USGS National Competitive Grant program⁸ and participate in the USGS Coordination Grant program.⁹ This latter program allows other federal departments and agencies to leverage the expertise of the water research institutes and centers. These departments and agencies can provide funds to the USGS, which then passes them through to an institute or center established by the Water Resources Research Act to advance the science of hydrology or related disciplines.¹⁰ The 1996 amendments also introduced a program to support USGS internships for qualified individuals at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to fulfill the educational and training objectives of the Act in association with USGS Water Science Centers.

A comprehensive listing of federal laws, provisions, and amendments related to the Water Resources Research Act is included in the appendix below.

Incorporation of the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in the Code of Virginia

In early 1982, before President Reagan decided to not reauthorize the Water Research and Development Act of 1978, Delegate Glenn B. McClanan (D-Virginia Beach) filed a house bill to establish the Virginia Water Resources Research Center as a state agency under the control of Virginia Tech. This bill was eventually incorporated into the Code of Virginia,¹¹ outlining the Center’s functions, powers, duties, and structure. The code has been updated several times.¹² Former Director William R. Walker stated, “The decision to seek state status is in keeping with the Center’s increased emphasis on trying to provide information on Virginia’s high-priority water problems and recognizes the growing trend in Washington to turn over to the states the responsibility and authority to solve their own problems.”

The Code of Virginia also provided provisions for a Statewide Advisory Board, replacing the Statewide Advisory Committee created by Virginia Tech and the Center in the 1960s. Representatives are appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly, and include balanced representation from industries, federal, state, and local agencies, water user groups, and concerned citizens. The Statewide Advisory Board recommends policy guidelines for implementing the functions of the Water Center, evaluates its programs, advises the executive director, and makes recommendations for carrying out the functions, powers and duties as expressed in the legislation. These functions, powers, and duties include:

1. consult with the General Assembly, federal, state, and local agencies, nonprofit organizations, private industry, and other potential users of research,
2. establish and administer agreements with other public institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education to carry out research projects,
3. disseminate new information and research results,
4. facilitate the application and transfer of new technologies to housing, and
5. stimulate and perform research that deals with housing policy issues facing the General Assembly and aids the Commonwealth’s housing and housing finance agencies.

College of Natural Resources and Environment

A proposal to relocate the Center to the College of Natural Resources (now called the College of Natural Resources and Environment) originated in 2002 during Dean Gregory Brown’s tenure. This followed Len Shabman’s resignation as Director of the Center when he accepted a resident scholar position with Resources for the Future in Washington, D.C. Interim Director Tamim Younos initiated efforts to sustain and enhance the Center’s programs amidst Virginia Tech’s consolidation of smaller research centers. At the time, the Center was housed in Agnew Hall, where space was limited.

The proposal aimed to transfer the Center’s administrative home from the Office of Vice President for Research and Interdisciplinary Programs to the College of Natural Resources to better support the Center’s state and federal mission. Additionally, the College of Natural Resources would provide space and initiate a search for the next Director. This administrative change required transferring the base budget and salary allocation to the College of Natural Resources, along with performance evaluation responsibilities.

The agreement was signed in September 2005 by Mike Kelly, Dean of the College of Natural Resources; Bradley Fenwick, Vice President for Research; and James Blair, Associate Vice President for Research. The Center would continue its mission in water resources research, education, and outreach across the university, with ongoing guidance from its Statewide Advisory Board.

Directors of the Virginia Water Resources Research Center

Acknowledgements

Much of the material for this history was gathered from the Water Center’s vast correspondence, reports, and files. In 2003, a Water Center staff member, Judy Poff, compiled the early history of the Center. Poff’s resources also included a report written by James S. Burton, 1984, “History of the State Water Resources Research Institute Program, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia,” and a VWRRC Special Report, “A Comparison of the 1977 Water Policy Review and the 1978 Federal Water Policy Proposals,” by Warren Viessman, Jr.

— Kevin McGuire, Director
April 2025

Notes

1. P.L. 88-379
2. Burton, J. S. (1984). History of the State Water Resources Research Institute Program (Vol. 84, No. 736). US Geological Survey.
3. Senate Select Committee on National Water Resources, United States Congress. 1961. Report of the Select Committee on National Water Resources, Pursuant to S.Res.48, Eighty-sixth Congress: Together with Supplemental and Individual Views. U.S. Government Printing Office.
4. Reed, D. (1992, May 6). Water Researcher Retires, With Dream Unfulfilled. Richmond Times-Dispatch, pp. C-6.
5. Records of the Office of Saline Water, 1955–72 [Electronic Record]; Record Group 380; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD [retrieved from the Access to Archival Databases at www.archives.gov, April 15, 2025].
6. P.L. 95-467
7. Pub. L. 98–242, title I, § 104, Mar. 22, 1984, 98 Stat. 98; Pub. L. 101–397, § 1(b)–(h), (m), Sept. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 852, 853; Pub. L. 104–147, §§ 3–6, May 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1376; Pub. L. 106–374, Oct. 27, 2000, 114 Stat. 1434; Pub. L. 109–471, § 2(a)–(e), Jan. 11, 2007, 120 Stat. 3552, 3553; Pub. L. 117–58, div. E, title II, § 50221, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1180
8. Pub. L. 101-397, § 104(g)
9. Pub. L. 104-147, § 104(h)
10. Donohue, M.J., Greene, E.A., and Lerner, D.T., 2021, Water Resources Research Act Program—Current status, development opportunities, and priorities for 2020–30: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1488, 27 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/cir1488.
11. Code of Virginia, 1982, c. 379, § 23-135.7:8
12. Acts of the General Assembly 1984, c. 734; 1985, c. 448; 2016, c. 588

Appendix: Federal Funds and Matching Changes

Other Noteworthy Items or Changes, By Year

1964

Title I, Sec. 100 (b) identifies only a two-part mission: conduct research and provide for training of scientists. It also lists the allowable areas of research and calls for institutes to be mindful of state needs and other research projects being conducted by other agencies.

Title III, Sec. 304, calls for establishment of a water research “cataloging” center “in such agency and location as the President determines to be desirable....”

1978

Title I, Secs. 101 (b) (1 and 2) re-do the research charges first stated in 1964’s Title I, Sec. 100 (b), and adds “scientific information dissemination activities”; this seems to be the first statement of the three-part mission.

Title I, Sec. 101 (b) (3) describes required annual reports.

Title I, Sec. 101 (b) (4) calls for five-year goals and objectives.

Title I, Sec. 102 encourages institutes to plan and conduct research financed under this title “in cooperation with each other and with such other agencies and individuals...”

Title I, Sec. 103 (b) charges the Secretary to develop a five-year water resources research program.

Title II calls for a program of research and development for “saline and other impaired waters” (defined in Sec. 204). Funds were $12 million for FY 79, $14 million for FY 80 (funds authorized are in Title IV, Sec. 402).

Title III, Sec. 300 authorizes Secretary to conduct a “research assessment and technology transfer program which transfers research and development results to other organizations and individuals....” Allows Secretary to enter into agreements, including cost-sharing, with state and local governments and other public and private organizations and individuals for “transfer and application of research results....”

Title III, Sec. 301 authorizes Secretary to “maintain a national center for the acquisition, processing, and dissemination of information dealing with all areas of water resources research, technology development, and demonstration.” (This is separate from the “cataloguing center,” which is in Title III, Sec. 302.)

Title IV, Sec. 400 (b) lists several authorizations for the Secretary, including making grants and cooperating with other entities.

Title IV, Sec. 404 identifies grant application requirements; this was in Title I, Sec. 101 (b) in 1964.

1984

Moves language around and has only Title I to cover 1978’s Titles I and II.

Technology development support is in Sec. 106; was in Title I, Sec. 101 (c) in 1978.

Title I, Sec. 104 (a) adds the following to the states previously covered: D.C., Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

Title I, Sec. 104 (b) (1) states the three-part mission.

1990

Sec. 1 (d) amends Sec. 104 (b) (1) of 1984 to revise the statement on the three-part mission, restating it as that the centers/institutes shall conduct research that fosters the following four things: entry of new scientists in water resource fields; training and education of future water scientists, engineers, and technicians; the preliminary exploration of new ideas that address water problems or expand understanding of water and water-related phenomena; and the dissemination of research results to water managers and the public.

Sec. 1 (e) amends Sec. 104 (c) of 1984 to allow funds to “be used only for reimbursement of direct cost expenditures...”; this refers to the funds for the centers/institutes, as identified in Sec. 104 (f) of 1984.

1996

Secs. 1 and 2 make some language changes to Findings (Sec. 102 in 1984 Act) and Purpose (Sec. 103 in 1984 Act).

Sec. 6 – Coordination. Adds a new Sec. 104 (h) to the 1984 law. Calls for Secretary to encourage other federal entities to coordinate with centers and allows contracts/funds from other agencies.

Also authorizes “support for a program of internships” for undergraduates and graduate students “to carry out the educational and training objectives of the Act.”

Also states that “Nothing in this Act shall preempt the rights and authorities of any State with respect to its water resources or management of those resources.”

2000

No additional items this year.

2007

Sec. 2 (a) amends Sec. 104 (b) (1) of 1984 on the mission, adding “improvements in water reliability” as a goal of research.

Sec. 2 (e) amends Sec. 104 (h) (2) (first appeared in 1996), on coordination, to add a requirement for the Secretary to provide annually to Congress “a crosscut budget detailing expenditures” and “a report which details the level of applied research and the results of activities authorized by this chapter, including the potential and actual (A) increases in annual water supplies; (B) increases in annual water yields; (C) advances in water infrastructure and water quality improvements; (D) methods for identifying and determining the effectiveness of treatment technologies and efficiencies.”

2021

Amending Section 104 (e) – Change to requiring Secretary to evaluate each center/institute every 5 years (was every 3 years previously). Also changes the language of what the evaluation is to cover, to the following:

• A – quality and relevance of the water resources research of the institute;
• B – effectiveness of the institute at producing measured results and applied water supply research;
• C – whether the effectiveness of the institute as an institution for planning, conducting, and arranging for research warrants continued support.

Amending Section 104 (h), on Coordination – Only change I could find from 2007 was a technical one (h) (1) (C), regarding a U.S. Code citation.