WaterSMART: Water and Energy Efficiency Grants

Applicants are required to provide a minimum cost-share of 50% via cash, applicant contributions, or third-party in-kind contributions. 

Applications may include any one, or a combination, of the project types described: 
Water Conservation: Resulting in quantifiable and sustained water savings or improved water management. Eligible projects include:

• Canal Lining or Piping, resulting in conserved water. 
  
• Installing Municipal Meters, resulting in measurable water savings. 
  
• Irrigation Flow Measurement that improves measurement accuracy and reduces spills and over-deliveries to irrigators. 
  
• Installing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition and Automation (SCADA) and/or automation components that provide water savings. 
  
• Landscape Irrigation Measures resulting in reduced outdoor water usage.  
  
• Installing High-Efficiency Indoor Appliances and Fixtures for water savings. 
  
• Retrofitting or Replacing Commercial Cooling Systems to reduce consumptive water use and energy. 

Renewable Energy: Increase the use of renewable energy sources in managing and delivering water and/or projects that upgrade existing water management facilities, resulting in quantifiable and sustained energy generation and/or savings. 

• Developing new hydropower capacity by installing a new hydropower facility or increasing the capacity of an existing hydropower facility
  
• Bringing existing mothballed hydropower capacity back online through facility investment 
  
• Installing solar-electric, wind energy, or geothermal power systems (e.g., replacing fossil fuel-powered pumps with renewable energy-based pumps) 

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. 
  

Category B Applicants: 

• Nonprofit conservation organizations acting in partnership with, and with the agreement of, an entity described in Category A. 
  

• All applicants are required to propose a method (or “performance measure”) of quantifying the actual benefits of their project once it is completed. Actual benefits: defined as water conserved or better managed, as a direct result of the project. 
  
• The costs for preparing and submitting an application, long-term post-construction monitoring, or for the purchase of water or land, or to secure an easement other than a construction easement, are not eligible project costs. 
  
• Project awards will be made through grants or cooperative agreements as applicable. If a cooperative agreement is awarded, the recipient should expect Reclamation to have substantial involvement in the project. 
  
• Evaluation Criteria includes the extent to which the project demonstrates support for the Presidential Administration’s priorities of Climate Change, serving Disadvantaged or Underserved Communities, and Tribal Benefits. 
  
• All applicants and projects must comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Clean Water Act (CWA), National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Davis-Bacon Act and Build America Buy America Act (when necessary recipients may apply for, and DOI may grant, a waiver for the Build America Buy America Act, subject to review by the Made in America Office). 

By request, Reclamation can provide technical assistance after the award of a project; assistance should be discussed with Reclamation staff prior to applying. 
Proposals may be submitted under the following three funding groups: 
Funding Group I: Smaller On-the-Ground Projects – Up to $500,000 
Funding Group II: Larger On-the-Ground Projects – Up to $2,000,000 
Funding Group III: Larger On-the-Ground Projects – Up to $5,000,000 
Funding Group I projects should be completed within two years of award. Funding Group II and III projects should be completed within three years of award. 
Anticipated Award Date: October 31, 2025 

Title: Reclamation Financial Assistance Contact - USBR 
Name: Christina Munoz (application, submission, and award administration) 
Email/phone: bor-sha-fafoa@usbr.gov; and (720) 614-2192 
 
Title: Reclamation Program Coordinator Contact - USBR 
Name: Josh German (applicant and project eligibility; and application review) 
Email/phone: jgerman@usbr.gov; and (303) 445-2839 
*Please include the NOFO number R24AS00052 in the subject*