This document outlines the goals and activities of the 1890 Land Grant Universities Water Center partnership. The partnership was established in 2010 with Virginia State University as the lead institution and included 10 other historically black land grant universities. The goals were to serve as a clearinghouse for water research, provide experiential learning for students, and address needs of local communities. Projects involved water quality research, education, and outreach. Challenges included issues with funding distribution and grant management across institutions. Future plans include continuing collaboration and seeking additional funding.

1. Establishing 1890s Land Grant
Universities Water Center
Virginia State University, Lead Institution
Dr. Asmare Atalay, Project Director
All Partnering Colleagues, Co-PDs

2. Project Period
• Start Date: October 1, 2010
• End Date: January 31, 2015

3. Goals
• To serve as a clearinghouse for research,
education and community outreach programs in
water and related environmental issues and to
facilitate as well as strengthen collaborative
projects amongst 1890 Land Grant Institutions.
• Provide experiential learning opportunities (e.g.
internship, scholarship) through which students
acquire practical job skills in water science.
• Build capacity to identify and address the needs
of local watershed stakeholders.

4. Objectives
• Enhance and/or initiate integrated water
programs at each 1890 LGU through collaborative
research, teaching, and outreach efforts.
• Investigate and document water and related
issues within rural and underserved communities.
• Develop geo-spatial database that can be used as
decision-making tools.
• Provide seed money for collaborating 1890s to
develop water programs.

5. Issues/Opportunities
• Protection of water resources in rural and
underserved communities is a critical that has not
been sufficiently addressed.
• Information about water research at 1890s is only
found scattered through a few campuses.
• Educating the youth (K-12, 4-H) on water and
related issues at underserved rural communities
is critically needed.
• Contamination of drinking water resource is a big
issue in rural and underserved communities.

6. Rationale
The 1890 Land-Grant Water Resources Center
(LGWRC) strives to provide excellence in
education by integrating innovative teaching
and experiential learning through cutting-edge
research and technology development in water
science by promoting partnerships and
collaborations among the 1890s to serve the
needs of the underserved in rural and
urbanizing communities.

7. Rational for Developing the Proposal
• The idea was initiated by Dr. Ali Mohamed in
2009 to bring together the 1890s and create a
team that would address regional and
national water issues.
• To create additional means for 1890s
researchers and extension agents to meet and
discuss water quality and quantity issues at
underserved communities; and to make
collaborative efforts to find solutions.

8. Rationale for the Partnership
• To share research, extension and teaching
experiences among the 1890s.
• To collaborate and solve emerging water quality
and quantity issues at underserved communities.
• To improve the knowledge base and quality of
our graduates in water and environmental
sciences.
• To increase the number of minority students in
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering,
Agriculture and Mathematics) curricula.

9. Partnering Universities
• Virginia State University,
Lead Institution
• Alabama A&M University
• Florida A&M University
• Delaware State University
• University of Maryland
Eastern Shore
• Lincoln University
• North Carolina A&T
University
• Kentucky State University
• Tennessee State University
• Tuskegee University*
• Alcorn State University*
• University of Arkansas at
Pine Bluff*
• * Expressed less interest
over time.

10. Activities/Projects
• Research and Education in Rainwater as an Alternative
Water Supply – NCA&T: Drs. G.B. Rddy and Manuel
Reyes.
• Enhanced Attrazine Removal from Water by Ordered
Mesoporous Carbons – Lincoln Univ.: Dr. John Yang.
• Assessment of Bacterial Impairment in Two Rural
Watersheds in North Florida – FAMU: Drs. Odemari S.
Mbuya and Katherine A. Milla.
• Impact of Municipal Sewage Sludge and poultry
Manure on Metribuzin and Chlorpyrifos Mobility from
Soils into Runoff and Sewage Water – KYSU: Dr. George
F. Antonious.

11. Activities/ Projects
• Implementation of the Alabama Urban Home*a*Syst
Program: An Environmental Risk Assessment Program
for Urban Homeowners - AAMU: Dr. Karnita Golson-
Garner
• Outreach Efforts on Water Quality Monitoring by
Volunteer Oyster Gardeners and Infusion of GIS in Data
Dissemination – DESU: Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay.
• Water Smart: Water Resource Academy for 1890
County Agents – TSU: Dr. Samuel O. Dennis.
• Assessment of Fecal Indicators and Microbial
Pathogens in Manokin River Water Used to Irrigate
Fresh Produce – UMES: Dr. Fawzey Hashem

12. Activities/Projects
• Modeling Land Use and Stream Water Quality Using a
GIS: A Case Study of Hinkson Creek Watershed –
Lincoln Univ.: Drs. Fengjing Liu and John Yang.
• Mercury Accumulation and Speciation in Freshwater
Fish Living in Mercury-Contaminated Waters – AAMU:
Drs. Paul Okweye and Karnita Garner.
• Sea Level Rise and Implications: Understanding the
Role of Microbes in the Salt Tolerance Mechanism of
Different Marsh Grass Species in Blackbird Creek,
Delaware – DESU: Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay.
• Spectro-Chemical Assessment of Bottled Water and Tap
Water Collected from Selected Middle Tennessee
Counties – TSU: Dr. Sam Dennis.

13. Activities/ Projects
• Assessment of the Chemical and Biological
Impact of Gypsum Curtain on Drainage Waters-
UMES: Drs. Arthur Allen and Fawzy Hashem.
• In-Stream Nutrient Loads from Adjacent States
and Their Impact on Florida Waters – FAMU: Dr.
Odemari Mbuya.
• Developing A Geo-Spatial Database for Water
Quality Assessment – KYSU: Dr. Maifan Silitonga.
• Water Conservation Education Program – NCA&T:
Drs. G.B. Reddy and Manuel Reyes.

14. Activities/Projects
• Developing Rural Household Water Quality
Monitoring Initiative and Geo-data in
Chesterfield and Dinwiddie Counties, Virginia
– VSU: Dr. Shobha Sriharan.
• Modeling Spatial Variation of Stream Water
Quality Associated With Land Uses Using A GIS
for Missouri River Watershed – Lincoln Univ.:
Drs. Fengjing Liu and John Yang

15. Accomplishments/Outputs
• Eleven refereed Articles (KYSU, FAMU, AAMU,
UMES and DESU).
• At least 18 Symposium presentations (one from
each project funded).
• 40 or more local seminars, field day and state fair
presentations.
• 40 or more students trained/mentored with
stipends paid from approved Center projects.
• Variety of small and medium priced research
equipment obtained from funded Center grants.

16. Challenges Encountered
• Non-uniform distribution of Center funds upset
some colleagues.
• Some of the outreach components were not fully
addressed due to partnership issues at local level.
• Burn-rate of funds were very low.
• Grant management was difficult due to many
offices handling financial issues (both at VSU and
partnering universities).
• Many partnering universities not following
reimbursement guidelines set by VSU.
• Partnering universities slow in submitting
progress reports.

17. Future Plans
• 1890s Water Center partners will continue to
seek funding from various agencies to keep
the collaboration intact. One AFRI proposal is
being prepared USDA-NIFA.
• One NSF proposal is being discussed for
October submission.
• Seek the support and encouragement of ARD
to keep the Center productive and 1890s
Water Group working together.