CIROH Review 2026

Purpose of the Review

The Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology (CIROH) officially began operations in April 2022 as a national consortium led by The University of Alabama. Established under the authority of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), CIROH was created to strengthen the research-to-operations (R2O) pipeline in hydrology and accelerate the delivery of actionable water resources intelligence in support of decision-making across all spatial and temporal scales.

CIROH provides a mechanism that directly links the scientific, technical, and educational resources of its 28-member consortium with NOAA’s operational water enterprise. CIROH scientists, students, and partners conduct mission-driven research spanning hydrologic modeling, water observations, hydroinformatics, flood inundation mapping, water quality forecasting, reservoir operations, and the social, economic, and behavioral dimensions of water prediction. CIROH is one of NOAA’s 16 Cooperative Institutes and is uniquely structured to work directly alongside NOAA’s operational water prediction enterprise, ensuring research priorities remain closely aligned with real-world forecasting and decision-support needs.

CIROH’s research and development activities directly support the mission of NOAA’s Office of Water Prediction and the National Weather Service’s National Water Center by collaboratively researching, developing, and transitioning innovations into operational hydrologic analyses, forecasts, data services, and decision-support tools. These efforts improve the observation, analysis, understanding, and prediction of water systems—from local, street-level impacts to national-scale hazards—advancing NOAA’s vision of a water- and weather-ready nation.

By operating at the front end of the research-to-operations-to-research (R2O2R) cycle, CIROH emphasizes co-development with operational partners, responsiveness to evolving NOAA priorities, and measurable societal benefit alongside scientific excellence. Through continued advances in modeling, cyberinfrastructure, uncertainty characterization, and user-centered design, CIROH contributes to improved water management, enhanced hazard preparedness, and increased social and economic resilience in the face of floods, droughts, water quality challenges, and climate-driven change.

Altogether, CIROH promotes sustained collaboration among universities, NOAA scientists, operational forecasters, decision makers, and community partners by providing a national framework where research innovations are developed, tested, evaluated, and transitioned into practice in support of operational water prediction services.

Five-Year Review Process

Pursuant to NOAA Policy NAO 216-107A, Section 4, the Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology (CIROH) has entered its five-year renewal review period. In support of this process, this webpage provides relevant documentation, research summaries, and supporting materials needed for the external review panel to assess CIROH’s performance, impact, and alignment with NOAA mission priorities.