Overview of Innovative Solutions Projects Funded in FY26
Summary
The "Innovative Solutions for Improving Water Quality and Strengthening Local Economies in the Gulf of America Watershed” funding opportunity sought applications that improve water quality through nutrient reduction demonstration projects that are enhanced by innovative technology. All applicants identified how their nutrient reduction project and use of innovative technology could lead to cost savings and economic benefits in the future.
Projects must address a nutrient reduction and/or estuarine or marine HAB mitigation demonstration project in one or more of the following three focus areas:
- Habitat: Enhance and/or restore habitat(s) to reduce nutrient pollution within the Gulf of America watershed.
- Water Quality: Capture, store, reuse, and/or infiltrate water to reduce nutrient loads and improve water quality; demonstrate sustainable solutions to align with broader watershed protection or restoration strategies.
- Harmful Algal Blooms (“HABs”): Prevent and reduce the impact of marine and estuarine HABs, including sargassum inundation events, on Gulf of America coastal areas (e.g., bays, estuaries, beaches, islands/keys, oyster reefs and nearshore waters). Projects should focus on innovative solutions.
Additionally, projects must develop or expand innovative technologies in at least one of the following areas:
- Demonstrate how artificial intelligence (AI) and/or machine learning (ML) can be utilized to enhance water quality, habitat, and/or HAB (includes SIE and potential SIE) monitoring and management efforts throughout the Gulf of America watershed.
- Develop new or expand the capability of existing innovative technology to improve water quality, habitat, and/or HAB (includes SIE and potential SIE) monitoring, or management.
Below is the list of 24 projects that were selected through a competitive process that included review panel rankings based on the criteria identified in the NOFO.
Innovative Solutions Assistance Agreements
Strategic Wetland Restoration and AI-Optimized Impact Planning
Recipient: Montana Department of Environmental Quality
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2031
Award Amount: $1,000,000
Project Description: This project will improve water quality with nutrient-capturing wetlands, reduce pollution sources that influence toxin-producing harmful algal blooms, and restore natural habitats by treating nutrient polluted water to reduce harmful algal blooms by merging machine learning-optimized project mapping with biomimicry’s nutrient treatment system.
Project Location: Montana
Watershed Innovation Farm: Water Quality, Forestry, Tech
Recipient: Iowa State University of Science and Technology
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2029
Award Amount: $996,039
Project Description: The Watershed Innovation Farm (WIF) at Iowa State University is a cutting-edge demonstration site integrating water quality practices and sustainable woodland management. Featuring six bioreactors, a saturated riparian forest buffer and planned wetland and grassed waterway, WIF showcases nature-based solutions for nutrient reduction. By linking conservation with economic development, WIF promotes clean water, healthy forests and rural opportunity—advancing EPA’s goals for air, land and water protection.
Project Location: South Skunk River Watershed, Iowa
Innovative Technologies to Reduce Florida Red Tide Impacts
Recipient: Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2029
Award Amount: $999,999
Project Description: This project aligns with the harmful algal blooms (HABs) focus area and will demonstrate and refine a methodology to mitigate and reduce the impacts of red tide—a type of HAB caused by the dinoflagellate species Karenia brevis—in the estuarine waters of Gasparilla Sound, which flows into Charlotte Harbor on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Project Location: Gasparilla Pass, Florida
Innovative Onsite Treatment for Wastewater Nutrient Reduction
Recipient: Louisiana State University
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2031
Award Amount: $999,949
Project Description: This project will demonstrate an innovative wastewater treatment reactor to reduce nutrients during onsite wastewater treatment. The project team will modify and retrofit existing treatment processes and create a machine learning directed “smart” reactor to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus in treated effluent by at least 50%. The project team will work with the advisement of local agencies to ensure efficient transfer of the developed technology and deliver a real-world solution to reduce nutrient pollution in the Gulf of America watershed.
Project Location: Still Branch-Natalbany River Watershed, Louisiana
A new scalable hydrogel bioreactor for nutrient recovery in the GOA
Recipient: Auburn University
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2029
Award Amount: $997,777
Project Description: This project proposes a scalable, eco-neutral approach for nutrient recovery from wastewater using 3D-printed alginate hydrogels infused with natural deep eutectic solvents and a synthetic microalgal-bacterial consortium. These engineered hydrogels will enhance nitrogen and phosphorus removal through improved microbial synergy, adsorption, and structural optimization. Pilot-scale bioreactors will evaluate nutrient recovery efficiency across various nutrient-rich water sources. This approach supports circular economy goals by enabling nutrient reuse as fertilizer and reducing nutrient loads to Gulf-bound waters, helping mitigate harmful algal blooms.
Project Location: Upper Chewacla and Tuscaloosa River Watersheds, Alabama; Savannah River and Chattahoochee River Watersheds, Georgia
Illinois Water Recycling for Gulf Nutrient Reduction
Recipient: University of Illinois
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2031
Award Amount: $993,940
Project Description: This project will demonstrate drainage water recycling as an innovative dual-purpose drainage practice in Illinois’ tile-drained farmland. Field experiments at the University of Illinois South Farm will quantify how drainage water recycling influences nitrogen and phosphorus losses, crop yield, water productivity and soil moisture. Control plots will establish new baselines for comparison. Crop simulation modeling integrated with satellite remote sensing and machine learning will scale results to millions of acres across Illinois.
Project Location: Champaign County, Illinois
Development of a Novel Complete Natural Remediation of Red Tide
Recipient: MOTE Marine Laboratory, Inc.
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2031
Award Amount: $746,683
Project Description: This project aims to offer a complete harmful algal bloom mitigation technology targeted for Karenia brevis or "red tide" from Florida's west coast. It will use a multi-step flocculation and sedimentation strategy involving natural coagulants including chitosan and tannic acid, natural algaecide (curcumin), sargassum biochar and calcined oyster shell (ballast) to flocculate Karenia brevis, adsorb brevetoxins and reduce nutrient loading from water. The product will be developed and demonstrated in the laboratory using 80L column and mesocosm studies. Machine learning will be utilized to predict technology performance at different scales, helping to streamline development and reduce costs.
Project Location: Sarasota, Florida
Innovative Carbon-Based Mole Drainage System for Improving Water Quality and Farm Profit
Recipient: South Dakota State University
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2030
Award Amount: $999,999
Project Description: This project will design, deploy, and evaluate a carbon-based mole drainage system. It forms mole-type subsoil trenches and injects plant-derived biomass (hemp, straw and wood chips) to act as passive bioreactors and a drainage system. This regenerative, nature-based drainage system supplements traditional tile drainage on farming and marginal lands. By increasing infiltration and water-holding capacity while retaining nutrients, it will reduce nitrate and phosphorus leaching, add organic matter, improve microbial activity and convert low-return acres into productive assets. Demonstration will be at diverse sites in South Dakota, including South Dakota State University research farms and producer fields that drain to the Gulf of America.
Project Location: Brookings, South Dakota
Optimizing Floodplain Nutrient Retention with AI Controlled Gates
Recipient: Tennessee Technological University
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2029
Award Amount: $993,953
Project Description: This demonstration project integrates ecology, environmental engineering and computer science disciplines to create a machine learning-based autonomous water control gate that optimizes floodplain nutrient retention by deciding how much and how long to keep water in a riparian area. The initial control model is based on previous regional wetland nutrient retention research, however, this control system will continuously self-improve its performance through constant real-time data input from local sensors and remote data including hydrology and nutrient concentrations. Through field-scale testing and validation, this project will create a more efficient and cost-effective tool for water resource managers to improve water quality.
Project Location: Middle Fork Forked Deer River Watershed, Tennessee
Medium-refillable modular bioreactors for removing nutrients in agricultural drainage ditches and stormwater ponds
Recipient: Regents of the University of Minnesota
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2031
Award Amount: $999,056
Project Description: This project will demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of the medium-refillable modular bioreactor technology to remove nutrients from agricultural drainage. Specific objectives are to: (1) evaluate the nutrient removal efficiency of the medium-refillable modular bioreactors for the agricultural drainage treatment, (2) examine the effectiveness of microbial pretreatment of bioreactor media on nutrient removal, (3) establish a real-time flow control system to maximize nitrate removal, and (4) evaluate economic feasibility and disseminate our bioreactor technology. This project will lead to the improvement in nitrate concentration in agricultural drainage ditches.
Project Location: Cottonwood River and Yellow Medicine River Watersheds, Minnesota
Addressing Nearshore Pollution of Alabama by an Integrated Oyster-Biochar Technology Powered by Artificial Intelligence
Recipient: University of Florida TREEO Center
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2029
Award Amount: $999,999
Project Description: This demonstration project will quantify the performance of an innovative restoration technology integrating oyster filtering and biochar sorption for nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) reduction and harmful algal bloom mitigation at 10 nearshore sites in Mobile Bay, Alabama. Off-bottom oysters for nutrient sequestration and sargassum-derived biochars deployed in water columns for nutrient and algal toxin sorption will be monitored by bimonthly water quality analysis and drone imagery. Artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning will be employed to assess and predict water quality improvement by this restoration technology, paired with technoeconomic analysis and life cycle assessment.
Project Location: Mobile Bay, Little Lagoon, Alabama
Carbon-Loaded Electrochemical Artificial Retention (CLEAR) System for Nutrient Reduction and Recovery in Agricultural and Urban Runoff
Recipient: Michigan State University
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2029
Award Amount: $1,000,000
Project Description: This project will improve water quality in the Gulf of America watershed through nutrient reduction demonstrations enhanced by innovative electrified technology, directly supporting the EPA GAD “water quality” focus area. A Carbon-Loaded Electrochemical Artificial Retention (CLEAR) system will be developed and deployed to transform low-cost carbon materials - such as granular activated carbon into electro-reactive media capable of capturing and potentially recovering nitrogen and phosphorus from runoff. By electrifying ecofriendly carbon-based materials for nutrient capture and reuse, the CLEAR system offers a scalable, cost-effective and sustainable solution that improves water quality, reduces nutrient-driven HAB risks, and enhances community planning across the Gulf of America watershed.
Project Location: Ingham County, Michigan; Dane County, Wisconsin; Brazos County, Texas; Mobile County, Alabama
A Smart Framework for Sanitary Sewer Overflow and Infiltration Control
Recipient: Oklahoma State University
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2030
Award Amount: $562,371
Project Description: This project addresses water quality threats from sanitary sewer overflows and inflow and infiltration in aging sewer systems. These failures release nutrients, salts and heavy metals into urban waters, accelerating salinization and degrading ecosystems across the Gulf of America watershed. An innovative, scalable framework that integrates process-based modeling, predictive machine learning and green stormwater infrastructure solutions will be developed. The project will identify high-risk hotspots, forecast vulnerabilities under future climates and land use changes, and guide cost-effective mitigation strategies by using digital twins and synthetic sewer networks. Outcomes will reduce pollutant loads, improve infrastructure resilience, and protect downstream ecosystems, thus improving water quality and strengthening local economies in the Gulf of America watershed.
Project Location: Stillwater and Edmund, Oklahoma
Sargassum-Derived Nutrient Capture System for Sustainable Stormwater and Coastal Ecosystem Management
Recipient: University of Texas – San Antonio
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2029
Award Amount: $735,529
Project Description: This project focuses on developing a sustainable nutrient (NH +, NO -, PO 3-) capture modular system using waste sargassum. The nutrient capture module is comprised of 3D printed biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA)-sargassum composite lattice, serving as a reusable structural foundation, coated with sargassum-derived alginate and Mg-modified sargassum-derived biochar that actively capture nutrients from stormwater. Fabricated through low-cost additive manufacturing, the system directly addresses both the challenge of sargassum inundation and nutrient pollution driving harmful algal blooms. By leveraging abundant coastal resources, low-cost, scalable 3D printing and environmentally benign materials, this technology promotes coastal health, circular resource use and affordable community-level water quality solutions.
Project Location: Gulf Region
Swarms of Buoyant Self-propelled Janus Micro/Nanorobots for Highly Selective Capture and Inactivation of HABs
Recipient: Texas A&M Engineering and Experiment Station
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2029
Award Amount: $999,342
Project Description: This project aims to develop and demonstrate cost-effective swarms of sunlight-powered Janus microrobotics for highly selective capture and inactivation of Karenia brevis by killing the algal organisms and their toxins from marine and estuarine waters in the Gulf of America. By coupling AI-enabled monitoring with sunlight-powered reusable microrobots, this proposed technology delivers a cost-effective, field-ready platform that both inactivates harmful algal bloom cells and degrades their toxins, improving environmental outcomes with reduced repeat treatment.
Project Location: North Galveston Bay, Texas
Microbe-assisted phytoremediation to reduce nutrients in wetlands
Recipient: University of Houston System
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2029
Award Amount: $500,596
Project Description: This project aims to remove nutrients and restore depleted wetland habitat by using native vegetation and microbes. The microbe-assisted phytoremediation technology will be developed, tested and implemented in Galveston Bay. This is a nature-friendly approach where the wetland will be enriched with native vegetation and its microbes to reduce nutrient runoff and habitat restoration.
Project Location: Galveston Bay, Texas
Revolutionizing Living Shorelines Using Engineered Sargassum-derived Biochar
Recipient: Mississippi State University
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2029
Award Amount: $800,000
Project Description: This innovative project focuses on constructing living shorelines using sargassum-derived biochar, produced onsite from beached sargassum without the need for special treatment. This approach could improve the performance of living shorelines for four key reasons: (1) biochar reduces soil erodibility, strengthening shoreline stability; (2) biochar improves soil health and water quality, supporting vegetation growth that further reinforces soils and benefits coastal ecosystems; (3) sargassum-derived biochar offers a sustainable use for harmful algal blooms by converting waste into a valuable resource; and (4) incorporating biochar in coastal protection structures reduces reliance on cement, thereby protecting the environment.
Project Location: Mississippi Coastal Basin, Mississippi
Using Humic Acid for Nutrient Reduction and Red Tide Mitigation
Recipient: Florida Gulf Coast University
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2029
Award Amount: $999,590
Project Description: This demonstration project evaluates humic acid as an innovative soil conditioner to reduce nutrient leaching from Florida’s watersheds (e.g., Peace River) to the Gulf for mitigating red tides. Through multiscale studies from lysimeter experiments and field trials on tomato farms to watershed-scale modeling, the project will demonstrate 50% reduction in fertilizer application while improving crop yields and quality, significantly lowering total nitrogen and phosphorus runoff, and reducing red tide risk in the Gulf of America. The project integrates stakeholder decision-support tools with artificial intelligence and machine learning models to improve water quality, economic sustainability and community resilience.
Project Location: Peace River Watershed, Florida
Water Quality Benefits of Regenerative Agriculture
Recipient: Oklahoma State University
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2029
Award Amount: $1,000,000
Project Description: This project will evaluate the utility of regenerative agricultural practices (no till, cover crops, grazing) to improve water quality and soil health. Using field soil and water measurements, artificial intelligence, multi-scale modeling and economic analysis, the range of benefits that these practices provide to producers and subsequently, local economies will be evaluated. Results will be transferred to farmers and rural communities via delivery of soil health workshops, field days, online content, social media, and Extension programs.
Project Location: Upper North Fork Red, Middle North Fork Red, Lower North Fork Red, Elm Fork Red Watersheds, Oklahoma and Texas
Engineered Polymeric Nanosheets for Sustainable Nutrient Recovery
Recipient: Auburn University
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2029
Award Amount: $1,000,000
Project Description: This project will develop selective adsorbents using polymeric sheets for nutrient recovery from water, enabling their use as value-added products in the form of fertilizers. Polymeric sheets impregnated with metal oxide nanoparticles will be engineered, systematically varying the mineral form of the nanoparticles to optimize adsorption capacity, selectivity and regeneration efficiency. To bridge laboratory innovation with real-world application, demonstrations will be established at real runoff sites (stormwater and agricultural drainage) situated within the Gulf of America. This deployment will enable long-term evaluation of the material’s performance and durability under field conditions and reusability across multiple treatment cycles. Ultimately, this work will suggest pathways for nutrient management, offering a complementary approach to mitigating harmful algal bloom formation.
Project Location: Lee, Mobile, Davidson, Talladega Counties, Alabama
AI-Guided Use of 3D-Printed Absorbents for Phosphate Removal
Recipient: Florida Atlantic University
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2029
Award Amount: $800,475
Project Description: This project will develop and field-demonstrate retrievable, 3D-printed, lanthanum-modified, sargassum-derived adsorbents for phosphate reduction in Lake Okeechobee. Durable, low-leaching 3D-printed units will capture phosphorus from water column and sediment–water interface to mitigate harmful algal blooms in the lake. As a headwaters control point in the Gulf of America watershed, nutrient reduction in Lake Okeechobee lowers downstream loads and supports communities and water-based economies. Artificial intelligence will guide formulation, siting and deployment of the 3D-printed structures. This innovative approach enables adsorbent retrieval, regeneration and reuse while valorizing sargassum biomass, providing a transferable, scalable technology for watershed-scale water quality improvement.
Project Description: Lake Okeechobee Watershed, Florida
Coupling Field-scale Nutrient Retention System and Machine Learning
Recipient: Mississippi State University
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2030
Award Amount: $903,877
Project Description: This project integrates field-based monitoring with predictive modeling to advance nutrient reduction strategies and enhance watershed health in Mississippi’s agricultural landscapes. An innovative nutrient retention system using gabion baskets filled with biochar and woodchips will be installed in drainage ditches to reduce both dissolved and sediment-bound nitrates. Complementing this fieldwork, advanced machine learning methods will be developed to map open agricultural ditches and predict nitrate reduction potential at the watershed scale.
Project Location: Big Sunflower River and Catalpa Creek Watersheds, Mississippi
Floating Wetland Islands for Nutrient Removal and Habitat Creation in Alabama and Mississippi
Recipient: University of South Alabama
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2030
Award Amount: $999,207
Project Description: This project will develop and implement innovative floating wetlands in Alabama and Mississippi waterways to improve water quality, reduce nutrient pollution and mitigate harmful algal blooms. These engineered nature-based solutions will capture and remove excess nutrients while enhancing habitat, variety of living things and ecosystem health.
Project Location: Mobile County, Alabama; Jackson County, Mississippi
Recirculating Tailwater Reduces Nutrient Loss in Agriculture
Recipient: Mississippi State University
Project Period: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2030
Award Amount: $999,933
Project Description: This project aims to employ innovative, in-field water recirculating technologies that economically reduce nutrient and sediment runoff from agricultural production lands. This goal will be accomplished by completing three objectives: (1) develop novel tailwater recirculating techniques that improve runoff water quality from rice production, (2) improve rice productivity and profitability, and (3) increase knowledge and promote implementation of strategies that reduce nutrient loss in rice. These activities will protect, maintain and restore the health and productivity of the Gulf of America.
Project Location: Tensas Parish, Louisiana; Chicot County, Alabama; Washington, Homes and Bolivar Counties, Mississippi