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!

Career Accelerator Award

The Colorado Water Congress (CWC) is excited to announce applications are open for the 2025 CWC Career Accelerator Award, a 1-year program intended to promote equity and diversity in the water sector. The award provides funding for awardee attendance at CWC’s two main annual events, as well as mentorship opportunities within the CWC community.

 Awardee Commitments

Awardee must commit to the following upon acceptance of the award:

• Attend Summer and Winter Conferences.
• Attend one (or more) CWC Board Meetings (6 opportunities throughout the year).
• Attend one (or more) Board Membership Committee Meetings.
• Participate in the CWC EDI Committee.
• Contribute to a CWC program in one of the following ways: write a guest blog article, participate in a member call, workshop or conference.
• Other contributions will be considered.

 Benefits of the Award 

The program includes exposure to the CWC, the principal voice of Colorado's water community, as well as exposure to a wide variety of key water resource issues in Colorado (agricultural, industrial, municipal, etc.). Awardees will be given opportunities to share their perspective. Awardees will also receive access to an ongoing network of award recipients.

Applications for 2025 are due November 18, 2024.

Additional information is available on the Colorado Water Congress website.

Growing Water Smart Metrics - Request for Applications 

The Sonoran Institute and Brendle Group are seeking water providers and/or communities in Colorado that are interested in using metrics to track progress and impact of integrated water and land use in their community. This opportunity operationalizes the guidance found in the Growing Water Smart Metrics: Tracking the Integration of Water and Land Use Planning guidebook. 

• Support received: Selected participants will receive 12 months of custom assistance (up to 150 hours) from Sonoran Institute and Brendle Group to calculate one or metrics from the Growing Water Smart Metrics guidebook. Examples of technical assistance include stakeholder engagement, water and/or land use data collection and analysis, policy research, and process development to support data-driven decisions. 
• Application deadline: October 31st by 5PM
• Additional information can be found at: https://resilientwest.org/growing-water-smart/metrics/
• Application link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSegoLmoto622dVxT-hroprKqCuCdScMYanvDKRhFDUwWtVSlA/viewform

Colorado WaterWise and the Native Grass Working Group are seeking proposals from website designers/developers to create an independent educational website about using native grasses.

This website will feature photo galleries, information, interactive tools, project case studies, and resources to help the website users be more successful installing and maintaining native grasses in irrigated landscapes in Colorado.

To learn more about this opportunity, see the following resources:

• Project Overview
• Summary of Website Organization, Features, and Tools
• Roles and Responsibilities Matrix
• Exhibit A – Statement of Work
• Proposal Guidelines
• Proposed Pricing Sheet

We will hold a virtual, optional pre-bid meeting at 10:00 am (Mountain Standard Time) on Friday, November 3, 2023. Join the Microsoft Teams meeting through this link.

Questions must be submitted by 11:59 pm on November 8, 2023. Answers will be available to all potential bid respondents upon request.   

Final proposals are due at 11:59 pm on November 15, 2023. Submit proposals and pricing sheets to Melissa Brasfield at admin@coloradowaterwise.org and copy Catherine Moravec at cmoravec@csu.org.

Call for Proposal document.

Draft Grass Selection Tool Data document.

The Bureau of Reclamation's WaterSMART program is now accepting applications for their FY 23 and 24 Cooperative Watershed Management Program (CWMP) Phase 1 Grants.

The Details

This funding opportunity provides funding to grassroots, local watershed groups to encourage diverse stakeholders to form local solutions to address their water management needs. Activities supported under CWMP Phase 1 include development of watershed groups, watershed restoration planning activities, and designing watershed management projects. 

• Applications are due by December 5, 2023 for FY23 funding and September 3, 2024 for FY24 funding.
• Applicants may request up to $300,000 for projects which can be completed within three years.
• Click here to access the funding opportunity on grants.gov and download the complete NOFO (also searchable using the opportunity number R23AS00362). 
• Learn more about CWMP grants and WaterNow’s support by downloading our CWMP Fact Sheet and visit our website for additional guidance! 

Free Support from WaterNow Alliance*

Now, more than ever, our cities and utilities need all the financial support they can get to meet our region's water challenges. Through our WaterSMART Grant Application Support and Help Desk, WaterNow Alliance can support Colorado water providers with no-cost assistance to apply for these funds to bring critical support to your community.

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

To learn more about how we can support your application process fill out this Google Form and visit our website. 

We Need Your Input: Take Our 5-Minute Survey!

We are committed to providing the best possible support to help Colorado water providers tackle regional water challenges. To understand how effective our WaterSMART grant application services are, please complete our short survey! You can access the survey here.

Questions About the 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 Cooperative Watershed Management Program Inquiries.

The Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART program is now accepting applications for their FY 23 and FY24 Planning and Project Design Grants – Drought Contingency Planning (DCP).

The Details

This funding opportunity supports the development and update of drought contingency plans. Reclamation provides funding for planning that, when implemented, will increase water reliability, and improve water management through the use of expanded technologies and improved modeling capabilities.

• Applications are due by October 17, 2023, for FY23 funding and April 2, 2024 for FY24 funding.
• Applicants may request up to $400,000 for projects which can be completed within three years.
• Click here to access the funding opportunity on grants.gov and download the complete Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (also searchable using the opportunity number R23AS00109).
• Learn more about DCP grants and WaterNow’s support by downloading our DCP Fact Sheet and visit our website for additional guidance!

Watch USBR's Webinar!

The Bureau of Reclamation hosted a webinar on August 24, to discuss eligible applicants and project types, and the evaluation criteria for the Planning and Project Design Grants and Drought Resiliency Projects funding opportunity. Click here to watch a recording of the live event. 

Questions About the 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 Drought Contingency Planning Inquiries. 

Support from WaterNow Alliance*

Now, more than ever, our cities and utilities need all the financial support they can get to meet our region's water challenges. Through our WaterSMART Grant Application Support and Help Desk, 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 services include:

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

If you are interested in applying for these grants and learning more about how WaterNow can help support your application process, fill out this Google Form!

We Need Your Input: Take Our 5-Minute Survey!

The Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART program is now accepting applications for their FY24 Drought Resiliency Projects (DRP) Grants through October 31, 2023.

The Details

This funding opportunity is available for projects that will increase water supply reliability, build long-term resilience to drought, and reduce the need for emergency response actions. 

• Applications are due by October 31, 2023 for FY24 funding.
• Applicants may request up to $5 million for projects which can be completed within three years.
• Click here to access the funding opportunity on grants.gov and download the complete NOFO (also searchable using the opportunity number R24AS00007).
• Learn more about DRP grants and WaterNow’s support by downloading our DRP Fact Sheet and visit our website for additional guidance!

Applicable Project Examples:

• Constructing stormwater capture and reuse systems, including green stormwater infrastructure solutions such as rain gardens, cisterns, and bioswales.
• Installing residential grey water and rain catchment systems
• Developing water budgets and tiered pricing programs that incentivize decreased consumptive use.
• And more! See the FY24 DRP Notice of Funding Opportunity for a longer list of eligible project types.

Free Support from WaterNow Alliance*

Now, more than ever, our cities and utilities need all the financial support they can get to meet our region's water challenges. Through our WaterSMART Grant Application Support and Help Desk, WaterNow Alliance can support Colorado water providers with no-cost assistance to apply for these funds to bring critical support to your community, including:

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

To learn more about how we can support your application process fill out this Google Form and visit our website. 

We need your input: take our 5-minute survey!

We are committed to providing the best possible support to help Colorado water providers tackle regional water challenges. To understand how effective our WaterSMART grant application services are, please complete our short survey! You can access the survey here.

Questions About the 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 Drought Resiliency Projects Inquiries. 

Watch USBR's Webinar!

The Bureau of Reclamation hosted a webinar on August 24, to discuss eligible applicants and project types, and the evaluation criteria for the Planning and Project Design Grants and Drought Resiliency Projects funding opportunity. Click here to watch a recording of the live event. 

The American Water Works Association has extended the call for abstracts for the North American Water Loss Conference (NAWL) until April 6.

If you would like to share your water loss work, now is your chance to throw your hat in. Let’s show the rest of the world the good work we are
doing and the challenges we are addressing here in Colorado! NAWL is also an excellent chance to spend a couple of days talking with a rare group of people who really understand water loss and might be able to give you new ideas on how to work on your own water loss issues. Come share your experiences!

The submittal portal is here: Water Loss | American Water Works Association

In early March, Jerd Smith of Water Education Colorado published a news article discussing Colorado's placement in the 9th position of the national water conservation ranking. Within the article, Smith conducted an interview with our member, Diana Denwood, a water conservation specialist at Aurora Water, who co-authored the 2022 Colorado WaterWise report. Denwood stated that numerous commendable water conservation programs are being executed by water providers, but there is still ample room for enhancement. Read the full article here.

The Sonoran Institute, Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy, and partner Northern Water are now accepting applications from counties, municipalities, and districts in Northern Colorado that are interested in attending the Growing Water Smart workshop.

 If your team is accepted, the workshop is free. Participants cover their own travel. Meals and lodging are provided.

 The goal of Growing Water Smart is to ensure that the water-related growth and development challenges your community is facing are addressed collaboratively and effectively with the greatest tools at your disposal.

 Attend with your team of land use planners, water providers, elected officials, and other water or land use experts. We will share a range of public engagement, planning, communication, and policy implementation tools and facilitate your team to ensure your community can realize its water efficiency, watershed health, and resilience goals.

 Workshop Details:

May 8-10, 2023

Estes Park • YMCA of the Rockies

 This workshop provides a great opportunity to begin collaborative thinking around linking water and land use, create an action plan, and qualify for technical assistance to support your path forward.

 Don't take our word for it - listen to past participants share their workshop experiences in this video.

 Learn more and apply today!