Water Conservation Field Services Program for Fiscal Year 2024

Background
The Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow) Program provides a framework for Federal leadership and assistance to stretch and secure water supplies for future generations in support of DOI priorities. The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) leverages Federal and non-Federal funding to work cooperatively with states, tribes, and local entities as they plan for and implement actions to increase water supply reliability through investments in existing infrastructure and attention to local water conflicts. Drought conditions across the Western United States (U.S.) impact a wide range of communities and sectors, including agriculture, cities, tribes, the environment, recreation, hydropower producers, and others. Reclamation established the Water Conservation Field Services Program (WCFSP) in 1996 to encourage beneficiaries of Federal water projects to conserve water, and to assist agricultural and urban water districts in preparing and implementing water conservation plans in accordance with the Reclamation Reform Act (RRA) of 1982.

Grant Details
This NOFO provides funding for the planning, prioritizing, demonstrating, and design of technology / projects that conserve and use water efficiently; mitigate risk in areas with a potential for future water conflict; and accomplish other benefits that contribute to water supply sustainability in the Western U.S.

Eligibility Requirements
States, Indian tribes, irrigation districts, water districts, or other organizations with water or power delivery authority located in the Lower Colorado Basin or Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands are eligible to apply. Applicants must be capable of cost-sharing 50 percent or more of the total project costs.

Period of Performance
The application submission period closes on June 3, 2024. The anticipated award date is September 2024 with an anticipated project completion date of December 2026.

Grant Value
Up to $100,000 per entity for fiscal year 2024. Approximately $700,000 is currently available for funding WCFSP grants in FY 2024.

Place of Performance
Reclamation’s Lower Colorado Basin Region (LCB) is requesting proposals to fund activities within the LCB (see map on p.3), within the State of Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.