The Bureau of Reclamation is soliciting applications for its WaterSMART Planning and Project Design Grants.
Donor Name: Bureau of Reclamation
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
U.S. Territory: American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 10/17/2023
Size of the Grant: $400,000.00
Grant Duration: 3 years
Details:
Through Planning and Project Design Grants, Reclamation provides funding for collaborative planning and design projects to support water management improvements. This includes funding for:
- Water Strategy Grants to conduct planning activities to improve water supplies (e.g., water supplies to disadvantaged communities that do not have reliable access to water, water marketing, water conservation, drought resilience, and ecological resilience);
- Project Design Grants to conduct project-specific design for projects to improve water management; and
- comprehensive Drought Contingency Plans. Note that funding to develop a water marketing strategy – formerly funded through Water Marketing Strategy Grants, a stand-alone funding opportunity under WaterSMART – is now available through (1) Water Strategy Grants.
WaterSMART Drought Resiliency Project Grants
Reclamation provides funding on a 50/50 cost share basis for projects that will increase the reliability of water supplies or improve water management to build long term resilience to drought and are supported by an existing drought contingency plan. Typical projects include:
- Projects that will increase the flexibility of water conveyance and deliveries, facilitating access to water supplies in times of drought.
- Projects that enable the capture or storage of additional water supplies that can be made available during drought.
- Projects that develop alternative water supplies to build resiliency to the impacts of drought Domestic water supply projects of which the primary purpose is to provide domestic water supplies to Tribal or disadvantaged communities that do not have reliable access to water supplies
- Aquifer storage and/or recovery projects that are to be used for supplemental supplies during times of drought, to serve communities that are or are potentially facing a public health crisis due to a lack potable water, or to recover previously recharged/stored water
WaterSMART Grants: Water and Energy Efficiency Grants
Financial assistance is provided on a 50/50 cost share basis for the construction of projects that conserve and use water more efficiently; increase the production of hydropower; mitigate conflict risk in areas at a high risk of future water conflict; and accomplish other benefits that contribute to water supply reliability in the West. Typical projects include:
- Projects that line or pipe canals, resulting in conserved water
- Projects that install meters, resulting in measurable water savings.
- Projects that improve measurement accuracy and result in reduced spills and overdeliveries to irrigators including Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition and Automation (SCADA).
Funding Information
Water Strategy and Project Design Grants
- Maximum Award: $400,000.00
- Minimum Award: $100,000.00
Drought Contingency Planning
- Maximum Award: $400,000.00
- Minimum Award: $25,000.00
Grant Period
- Anticipated Award Date: July 1, 2024
- Anticipated Project Completion Date: June 30, 2027
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants eligible to receive an award under this Funding Opportunity are described below.
Water Strategy Grants and Project Design Grants
Category A Applicants
- States, Tribes, irrigation districts, and water districts;
- State, regional, or local authorities, the members of which include one or more organizations with water or power delivery authority; and
- Other organizations with water or power delivery authority.
All applicants must also be located in the West or Territories as identified in the Reclamation Act of June 17, 1902, as amended and supplemented; specifically: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, or Puerto Rico.
Category B Applicants
Nonprofit conservation organizations that are acting in partnership with, and with the agreement of, an entity described in Category A. All Category B applicants must be located in the United States or the specific Territories identified above.
Category B applicants should include with their application a letter from the Category A partner stating that the Category A partner:
- Is acting in partnership with the applicant;
- Agrees to the submittal and content of the application; and
- Intends to participate in the project in some way, for example, by providing input, feedback, or other support for the project. Note: Partners do not necessarily need to contribute cost share funding.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
