Reclamation announces funding opportunity for agricultural water conservation

The Bureau of Reclamation is collaborating with Natural Resources Conservation Service to make federal funding available to improve the efficiency of agricultural water use throughout California. The projects funded through this partnership will help communities build resilience to drought through the modernization of water infrastructure and efficient use of water resources.

Reclamation plans to award up to $1.5 million in fiscal year 2022 (subject to appropriations) through grants or cooperative agreements to entities with water or power delivery authority, including water districts and irrigation districts, to help improve water use efficiency in water delivery to the agricultural sector. NRCS will then announce a separate program to provide funding to farms within those districts for water conservation practices to complement the projects selected through Reclamation’s Notice of Funding Opportunity. Eligible projects in the past have included: canal lining or piping, turnout metering, weir structures, and more.

View this funding opportunity at https://www.grants.gov. Search online at grants.gov for the announcement with key words – e.g., agricultural water use efficiency and conservation projects; CFDA – 15.572; or opportunity number R21AS00553. Applications are due Nov. 1, and will be selected through a competitive process that will focus on achieving the outcomes identified and outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity.

Contact Thomas Hawes for more information at [email protected] or 916-978-5271 (TTY 800-877-8339).