2025 Water Leaders Program Application Information Page

Applications for the 2025 program are now open!

Program Highlights

• With just 20 class participants, form a tight-knit group of trusted peer advisors
• Receive extensive training in communicating effectively, navigating conflict and diversity, managing self and others, and building effective teams
• Experience individual growth through self-assessment, executive coaching, and peer workshopping
• Gain the opportunity to step back and define your leadership style, assess your priorities, and design a path toward the leadership legacy you want to have in Colorado water
• Build and begin to test your own personal development plan with support from your coach
• Plus learn from and connect with the greater network of water professionals in Colorado through Leaders Unplugged sessions and paired mentorships with seasoned water leaders working in diverse fields

Check out the program FAQ sheet for answers to frequently asked questions.

Additional information on the program.

By recognizing today's emerging leaders, we aim to support their growth while celebrating their achievements, creating a strong foundation from which water utilities can address tomorrow's sustainability challenges. The Award recognizes municipal and utility employees who have demonstrated promise and creativity in advancing meaningful cultural change in the areas of sustainability, equity, or community engagement. Awardees will receive a $1,500 stipend to support their leadership training and professional development and will have exclusive access to professional development opportunities through WaterNow. The 2025 Emerging Leader Award recipients will be invited to accept their awards at the Awards Ceremony this summer.
 
In selecting award winners, WaterNow looks for nominees who have demonstrated leadership skills in sustainable, equitable, and innovative approaches to engagement with their water systems and their communities. Past winners have led projects supporting water conservation education and audits to minimize inefficient water use, managing their community’s lead service line replacement program, or revitalizing green infrastructure programs to ensure equitable access to flood safety. 

Nominate an emerging leader.

Applications are now open for our next cycle of Project Accelerator, focusing specifically on Colorado communities! As the deadline approaches, I wanted to reach out to encourage you to submit your application by February 7, 2025.   

Project Accelerator provides communities with up to 250 hours of pro-bono support tojumpstart a sustainable water project. Projects are driven by the community’s goals and can range from outcomes such as new ordinances to the launch of water conversion programs. More information about Project Accelerator, including the link to apply and examples of past projects, can be foundhere. 

Selected projects receive: 

• Tailored support for your program, which may include project management, policy guidance, research and analysis, program design, community outreach, and more 
• Access to a broad network of water sector experts in program development and innovative financing 
• Up to 250 hours of assistance over approximately 6-12 months  

If you have any questions about the Project Accelerator program or application process, please contact Victoria Arling (va@waternow.org), Will Sollish (wsollish@waternow.org), and Kerry Miller (kmiller@waternow.org).

The Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART program is accepting applications for many of their grants such as the Small-Scale Water Efficiency Projects (SWEP): supports small-scale, on-the-ground water efficiency projects which seek to implement work identified in an applicant’s water planning efforts. 

• • Applications are due Tuesday, July 8, 2025. 
  • Applicants may request up to $125,000 for projects that cost $250,000 or less and can be completed in 2 years.  
  • Apply on grants.gov (NOFO No. R24AS00059) and learn more about SWEP grants and WaterNow’s support by downloading our SWEP Fact Sheet.  

Questions About a Grant? 

If you are planning to apply or have questions regarding applicant and project eligibility, program requirements, or the evaluation criteria, you should schedule a time to talk with the USBR program coordinators by clicking here and selecting the grant you want to speak about. 

WaterNow is currently accepting applications for our next round of Project Accelerator, and we would greatly appreciate it if you would be willing to spread the word! We want to ensure that local water leaders in your network are aware of this valuable opportunity.

If you’re not already familiar with Project Accelerator, it provides cities, water agencies, and other organizations with pro-bono support to jumpstart a sustainable water project.

During this application cycle, we will be focusing specifically on projects based in Colorado. Through this approach we hope to not only support individual communities, but also to deepen connections across communities, foster knowledge-sharing and collaboration, and open the door to innovative, regional solutions. More information about Project Accelerator, including the link to apply and examples of past projects, can be found on our website here.

Applications are due by February 7, 2025, so we’d be very grateful if you could include information about Project Accelerator in your next newsletter or other audience outreach. I’ve attached a document with language about Project Accelerator that can be easily inserted into your planned outreach, or in an email blast to your contacts. Sample social media posts are also included, or if it’s easiest, you can simply share our LinkedIn posts or email announcement.

The Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART program is accepting applications for their Water and Energy Efficiency Grants (WEEG) and Bucket 2 Environmental Drought Mitigation (B2E) funding opportunities. Applications are due soon! 

• Water and Energy Efficiency Grant (WEEG): available for projects that can result in quantifiable and sustainable water savings, implement renewable energy components, and support broader sustainability benefits.  
• • Applications are due November 13, 2024.  
  • Funding for up to $5 million and the application is available on grants.gov(NOFO No. R24AS00052).  
  • Refer to the NOFO for specific applicant eligibility requirements. 
  • Learn more about WEEG and WaterNow’s support offerings by downloading ourWEEG Fact Sheet. 
• Upper Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program – Environmental, Ecosystem, and Habitat Restoration Grant, “Bucket 2 Environmental Drought Mitigation” (“B2E”): provides funding to public entities and tribes for projects that provide general environmental benefits or ecosystem / habitat restoration benefits that address issues directly caused by drought.  
• • Applications are due November 22, 2024 (deadline extended from October 14, 2024). 
  • Applicants should download the RFA and prepare an application package with the information outlined in Section D of the RFA and submit via email to UCBefficiency@usbr.gov.  
  • Refer to the RFA for specific applicant eligibility requirements. 
  • More information including project funding, how to apply, frequently asked questions, and a recording of a webinar is available on USBR’s website. 
  • Learn more about B2E and WaterNow’s support offerings by downloading ourB2E Fact Sheet. 

Reminders! If you are planning to apply for a WaterSMART grant, you MUST be registered in System for Award Management (SAM) and provide a valid Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) in your application. Applicants that do not have an active SAM registration will not be able to submit an electronic application in Grants.gov. 

Free Support from WaterNow Alliance* 

WaterNow Alliance can support Colorado water providers with no-cost assistance to apply for these funds to bring critical support to your community. Our support offerings include: 

• Application templates based onthe Notice of Funding Opportunity 
• Detailed review of your application (Please note that WaterNow is not able to write/draft WaterSMART applications)  
• Targeted research tasks related to your application 
• 1-on-1 calls to discuss grant opportunities and to strategize next steps 
• Guidance on USBR grant submission processes 
• We’ll work with you to determine what kind of support would be most useful to your utility or organization. Check out our website to learn more. 

To learn more about how we can support your application process fill out this Google Form!