Wyoming Water Research Center
Wyoming's federal water-research institute from 1965 until its closure in 1998 — after which the state's NIWR program landed on federal probation and was rebuilt from scratch as the Wyoming Water Research Program.
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- Country
- United States
- What it was
- The University of Wyoming unit housing Wyoming's designated program in the National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR), from 1965 to 1998
- Name in UW documents
- Wyoming Water Resources Center (WWRC)
- Closed
- 1998
- Succeeded by
- The Wyoming Water Research Program (WRP), initiated late 1999 and now administered by UW's Office of Water Programs
- First WRP director
- Larry Pochop (professor of civil engineering), appointed October 1999
The institute that was shut down
For thirty-three years, Wyoming’s share of America’s federal water-research system ran through one unit at the University of Wyoming: the Wyoming Water Resources Center (WWRC), the designated state participant in the National Institutes for Water Resources program since its 1965 inception. In 1998, the center was closed.
The aftermath was close to a worst case. In late 1999 a replacement — the Wyoming Water Research Program (WRP) — was initiated to coordinate Wyoming’s NIWR participation, but it was, in UW’s own words, “completely reformulated compared to the State’s NIWR program as it existed previously, since 1964, within the Wyoming Water Resources Center.” That same fall, Wyoming’s NIWR program was placed on probationary status after a mandated five-year federal evaluation covering 1992–1997, putting its annual funding eligibility at risk.
The rebuild was deliberately lean: director Larry Pochop (professor of civil engineering), appointed in October 1999, housed the program in the Civil and Architectural Engineering department reporting to the Vice President for Research, and employed students for administrative work rather than creating permanent admin posts — minimizing overhead while maximizing research and training funds. A Priority and Selection Committee drawn from state and federal water agencies solicited research needs, selected projects and monitored progress; faculty competed for funding through peer-reviewed proposals approved by NIWR. A strategic plan was submitted to the USGS in June 2000, an implementation report that December, and in March 2001 Wyoming received notice of removal from probation. Legislative action beginning July 2002 then created the Office of Water Programs to administer the WRP and provide UW’s advisor to the Wyoming Water Development Commission.
The WRP’s early research portfolio (through February 2003) shows what the reformulated program funded: hydrologic impacts of irrigation efficiency, erosion-potential modeling, septic-system fate in the field, drought prediction, a Wyoming Climate Atlas, and real-time E. coli monitoring in surface waters.
The closed center’s paper trail survives in the University of Wyoming Archives: the Wyoming Water Resources Center Records, cataloged through the Orbis Cascade Alliance’s Archives West service, hold water-resources research-institute files on groundwater allocations, instream flows and snow hydrology from the 1960s onward, subject files ranging from acid deposition to the Ogallala Aquifer, and administrative records from the 1960s through 1998 — including files on the center’s creation and its closure. Archives West
What this profile does not claim
- The circumstances of the WWRC’s 1998 closure — the sources state the fact but not who decided it or why; that gap is noted, not filled.
- Anything about the program’s post-2003 history; later developments were not verified from fully-read sources.
- That “Wyoming Water Research Center” and “Wyoming Water Resources Center” are definitively one name; UW’s own documents use the latter, and both are given here.
Timeline
- 1965
- The University of Wyoming becomes Wyoming's designated participant in the NIWR program at its inception, under the Water Resources Research Act of 1964.
- 1998
- The Wyoming Water Resources Center is closed; state support through the Wyoming Water Development Office is discontinued.
- 1999
- The Wyoming Water Research Program is initiated in late 1999 to coordinate Wyoming's NIWR participation; Larry Pochop is appointed director in October. After a mandated five-year evaluation (1992–1997), Wyoming's NIWR program is placed on probationary status.
- 2001
- Wyoming receives notice of removal from probationary status in March, restoring its eligibility for annual NIWR funding.
- 2002
- The University of Wyoming's Office of Water Programs is created by the 56th Legislature to administer the WRP and advise the Wyoming Water Development Commission.
Sources
4 sources (1 tier 2, 3 first-party), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Statements the subject makes about itself are marked as such and are not treated as independent evidence. See the source policy.
- Supports: Archival catalog of the WWRC records at UW: water-resources research institute files (groundwater allocations, instream flows, snow hydrology, 1960s–1998), subject files (acid deposition, Ogallala Aquifer, brown trout habitat, 1980s–1998), and administrative records (1964–1990s) including creation and closure files. Open original source
- Supports: UW as Wyoming's NIWR participant since 1965; NIWR program housed in the WWRC until 1998; WWRC closed 1998; WRP initiated late 1999; WRP completely reformulated versus the WWRC-era program; fall 1999 probationary status after 1992–1997 evaluation; removal from probation March 2001; Pochop appointed October 1999; P&S Committee composition; USGS strategic plan June 2000 and implementation report December 2000; Office of Water Programs established July 2002; 1998 discontinuation and re-establishment of Water Development Office funding; WRP housing and reporting; student-admin staffing model. Open original source
- About the WRP First-partySupports: WRRI program lineage (1964 Act, 1978 Act, 1984 Act, NIWR–USGS cooperation since 1983); WRP initiated late 1999; WRP purposes and participants (USGS, Wyoming Water Development Commission, UW); Priority and Selection Committee role; RFP cycle. Open original source
- Office of Water Programs First-partySupports: OWP created 2002 by the 56th Legislature; OWP administers the WRP including NIWR activities; WRP as cooperative federal/state/university effort. Open original source
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