Sole Source Justification and Approval (J&A) - UMRB (NDSU)   4

Background
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is tasked with establishing a monitoring network for snowpack and soil moisture in the Upper Missouri River Basin (UMRB) following the historic 2011 flood. This initiative is part of a broader framework developed in collaboration with various basin agencies, which was formalized through the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014 and further supported by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act) of 2016. North Dakota State University (NDSU) has been identified as a key partner due to its existing infrastructure, operational efficiencies, and expertise in meteorological data management, making it well-suited to lead this effort under a sole source award.

Work Details
The contract involves the installation, operation, and maintenance of soil moisture and plains snow monitoring stations throughout the UMRB, which includes areas in Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and parts of Iowa and Minnesota. The general requirements specify that a monitoring station must be installed in every watershed within the basin at a density of one station per designated square miles.

The work will include:
- Supplies for establishing monitoring stations
- Installation of equipment
- Ongoing operation and maintenance
- Development of supporting documents for data utilization.

The data collected will support drought monitoring, modeling efforts, and improve runoff estimates by providing real-time soil characteristics and snow data. This information will be accessible to federal, state, and local agencies to enhance existing forecasting products such as river forecasts from the National Weather Service (NWS) and drought outlooks from the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC).

Place of Performance
The geographic locations for performance include various watersheds across Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, as well as parts of northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota.