New bill to initiate UVM water forecast operation

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WCAX) – A move in Capitol Hill could be making waves on the UVM campus.

A new bill from Senator Peter Welch – the Water Research Optimization Act of 2024 – would make a water forecasting operation a permanent fixture of the University of Vermont campus.

The Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology is the first-ever water forecast operation in the country, and it has a research center at UVM.

The institute helps provide important hydrological data, warnings, and research – and if Welch’s act passes, it will be on campus to stay.