WaterSMART Drought Resiliency Projects

Drought conditions across the Western United States (West) impact a wide range of communities and sectors, including agriculture, cities, Tribes, the environment, recreation, hydropower producers, and others. The WaterSMART Drought Response Program supports a proactive approach to drought by providing financial assistance to develop and update comprehensive drought plans (Drought Contingency Planning) and implement projects that will build long-term resilience to drought (Drought Resiliency Projects). Collaboration with a multitude of customers, partners, and stakeholders is essential to identifying successful strategies to address complex water management issues such as drought. Collaborations are central to Reclamation’s approach to addressing drought in the West, and WaterSMART’s Drought Response Program supports the goals of the Interagency Drought Relief Working Group established in March 2021 and the National Drought Resiliency Partnership formed in 2016 to enhance Federal coordination of drought activities.

With the passage of the IRA, through the Drought Resiliency NOFO, Reclamation now offers an opportunity that provides up to 95 percent of the cost for the planning, design, and construction of domestic water supply projects that benefit disadvantaged communities or households that do not have reliable access to domestic water supplies.

Eligible Applicants :

Drought Resiliency Projects: Tasks A-C

• Category A: States, Tribes, irrigation districts, and water districts; state, regional, or local authorities whose members include one or more organizations with water or power delivery authority; and other organizations with water or power delivery authority. Category A applicants must be located in the Western United States or United States Territories, including 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, and Puerto Rico.
• Category B: Nonprofit conservation organizations that are acting in partnership and with the agreement of an entity described in Category A. Category B applicants must be in the United States or one of the Territories identified above.

Domestic Water Supply Projects: Task D States, Tribes, irrigation districts, and water districts; state, regional, or local authorities whose members include one or more organizations with water or power delivery authority; and other organizations with water or power delivery authority. Task D applicants must be located in one of the following states or territories: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands.

Award Ceiling: $10,000,000
Award Floor: $25,000