44 Open Water & Utilities Grants (2026): $340.3M Available

Geological Survey

Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a funding opportunity to a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) partner for research focused on advancing GeoAI-enabled automated landform mapping, expansion of the Landform Reference Ontology using knowledge graphs, and improving Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) summit feature positional accuracy using lidar-derived elevation datasets.

Environmental Protection Agency

Technical Assistance and Training for Rural, Small and Tribal Municipalities and Wastewater Treatment Systems

Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting applications under the authority of the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 104(b)(8) to provide Technical Assistance and Training for Rural, Small and Tribal Municipalities and Wastewater Treatment Systems. The program supports small, rural, and Tribal communities efforts to identify water challenges, develop plans, build technical, financial, and managerial capacity, comply with CWA requirements, and access water infrastructure funding.Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity under the Clean Water Act, EPA will achieve greater protection of public health and the environment through an increase in trained water sector personnel, access to funding and financing for wastewater treatment facilities, and Clean Water Act compliance. This action advances the Administration s priorities, including to Make America Healthy Again, by improving water quality and reducing exposure risks, and enabling responsible economic growth for small, rural, and tribal communities through improved wastewater infrastructure. In partnership with States, Tribes, and local governments and grounded in sound science and the law, EPA will deliver cleaner water, stronger infrastructure, and long-term environmental stewardship for all Americans.The proposed activities support the Agency s Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative s Pillar 1: Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American. Priority Areas identified in this opportunity are:(1) Technical assistance and training for rural, small, and Tribal municipalities for planning, developing and acquisition of financing/funding for eligible projects and activities. Technical assistance and training for rural, small, and Tribal publicly owned treatment works and decentralized wastewater systems to help improve water quality and to achieve and maintain compliance.(2) Technical assistance and training focused specifically on Tribes for planning, developing and acquisition of financing/funding, to help improve water quality and achieve and maintain compliance, and/or to support emerging contaminants project development.(3) Information dissemination, technical assistance and training focused specifically on decentralized wastewater treatment systems to support planning, development and acquisition of financing.Eligible entities for this grant program include nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education that can provide technical assistance and training to rural, small, and Tribal municipalities, publicly owned wastewater treatment works, and decentralized wastewater treatment systems. Assisting systems with their technical, managerial, and financial capacity to achieve long-term compliance is a key priority for the Agency. Infrastructure construction projects such as repairing water or sewer lines, adding new equipment, or upgrading, retrofitting, or rehabilitating existing equipment are not eligible for funding under this announcement.

National Rural Water Association

Water system operator training and capacity building for small rural systems

National Energy Technology Laboratory

Improved Oil and Gas Recovery and Produced Water Management Technologies

National Energy Technology Laboratory

Modification 000001: Issued to change the Full Application date; modified NOFO Part 1. No other changes have been. Please see the NOFO Part 1 for the full description of the modification. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will seek proposals for specific research and development (R&D) projects to improve recovery efficiency from unconventional oil and natural gas reservoirs and to advance technologies for the treatment of flowback and produced water from oil and natural gas production operations. Despite increasing energy for demand, recovery efficiency for oil and natural gas from unconventional reservoirs can average less than 10 percent. This NOFO will enable rapid field deployment of a variety of novel technologies and processes related to improving primary and enhanced recovery with the goal of significantly improving resource recovery and accelerating industry uptake. This NOFO will also support the field testing and validation of water treatment technologies of produced water from oil and natural gas production operations to avoid deep well injection and potential issues with induced seismicity and interaction with underground sources of drinking water.

Geological Survey

FY2026 Water Resources Research Act Non-Competitive Coordination

Rural Community Assistance Partnership

Technical assistance for rural water and wastewater system improvements

Bureau of Reclamation

Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Projects

Bureau of Reclamation

Through WaterSMART, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) leverages Federal and non- Federal funding to work cooperatively with States, Tribes, and other entities as they plan for and implement actions to increase water supply and hydropower reliability. The WaterSMART Program demonstrably advances Trump administration priorities, such as those identified in Presidential Executive Order 14154 (January 20, 2025): Unleashing American Energy (E.O. 14154) and Secretarial Order 3418, and aligns with other priorities and requirements, such as those identified in Presidential Executive Order 14332 (August 7, 2025): Improving Oversight in Federal Grantmaking (E.O. 14332). The WaterSMART Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Projects NOFO invites eligible applicants to submit proposals for the planning, design, and/or construction of water reclamation and reuse projects. Title XVI projects develop and supplement urban and irrigation water supplies through water reuse, which provides growing communities with new sources of clean water, increases water management flexibility during times of shortage, and makes the water supply more reliable.

Bureau of Reclamation

WaterSMART Enhancing Water Resources Projects

Bureau of Reclamation

The objective of the WaterSMART Enhancing Water Resources Projects funding opportunity is to invite eligible entities to apply for funding to implement projects per the authorizing language referenced above that benefit water resource management for multiple uses, including water conservation and efficiency projects, water infrastructure improvements, and river and watershed restoration. Projects that balance numerous community interests (agriculture, recreation, fisheries, power, etc.), were developed collaboratively, and provide significant watershed benefits will be prioritized under this funding opportunity. This program demonstrably advances Trump administration priorities, such as those identified in Presidential Executive Order 14154 (January 20, 2025): Unleashing American Energy (E.O. 14154) and Secretarial Order 3418, and aligns with other priorities and requirements, such as those identified in Presidential Executive Order 14332 (August 7, 2025): Improving Oversight in Federal Grantmaking (E.O. 14332).

Bureau of Reclamation

WaterSMART Cooperative Watershed Management Program

Bureau of Reclamation

The WaterSMART Cooperative Watershed Management Program funding opportunity invites eligible entities to apply for funding to develop local solutions to address their water management needs. This opportunity provides funding for watershed group development, restoration planning, and watershed management project planning and design. By providing this funding, Reclamation promotes water reliability and cooperation between stakeholders to reduce conflict, facilitate solutions to complex water issues, and stretch limited water supplies.The WaterSMART Cooperative Watershed Management Program demonstrably advances Trump administration priorities, such as those identified in Presidential Executive Order 14154 (January 20, 2025): Unleashing American Energy (E.O. 14154) and Secretarial Order 3418, and aligns with other priorities and requirements, such as those identified in Presidential Executive Order 14332 (August 7, 2025): Improving Oversight in Federal Grantmaking (E.O. 14332).

State Water Resources Control Board

Eligible Applicants: Local public agencies, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations qualified to do business in California, Public Utilities, Federally and non-federally recognized Native American tribes on the Native American Heritage Commission’s list, and Mutual water companies. Eligible Uses: Eligible projects include recycled water treatment; recycled water storage, distribution, and pumping; groundwater recharge; indirect potable reuse; surface water augmentation; and large scale recycled water projects. Ineligible Uses: Operation and maintenance costs.  Eligible Costs:  Construction Grant Funding - Construction costs only Construction Grant Funding - Large Scale Recycled Water Projects - Planning, Design, and Construction. Eligible Communities: All community types are eligible for funding.  This includes small and large communities, non-disadvantaged, disadvantaged, and severely disadvantaged communities. For more information, please review the Water Recycling Funding Program (WRFP) Guidelines:  https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/grants_loans/docs/wrfp_guidelines.pdf  

State Water Resources Control Board

Eligible Applicants: Local public agencies, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations qualified to do business in California, Public Utilities, Federally and non-federally recognized Native American tribes on the Native American Heritage Commission’s list, and Mutual water companies. Eligible Uses: Eligible projects include recycled water treatment; recycled water storage, distribution, and pumping; groundwater recharge; indirect potable reuse; surface water augmentation; and large scale recycled water projects. Ineligible Uses: Operation and maintenance costs.  Eligible Costs:  Construction Grant Funding - Construction costs only Construction Grant Funding - Large Scale Recycled Water Projects - Planning, Design, and Construction. Eligible Communities: All community types are eligible for funding.  This includes small and large communities, non-disadvantaged, disadvantaged, and severely disadvantaged communities. For more information, please review the Water Recycling Funding Program (WRFP) Guidelines:  https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/grants_loans/docs/wrfp_guidelines.pdf  

Waterkeeper Alliance

Supports local Waterkeeper organizations fighting for clean water worldwide.

Clean Water Fund

Funds grassroots efforts to protect water quality and ensure safe drinking water.

River Network

Supports community-based watershed protection and river conservation.

Water Environment Federation

Funds water quality research and innovation in water treatment and management.

U.S. National Science Foundation

The Water, Landscape, and Critical Zone Processes program supports research on the Earth s near-surface environment and how that environment responds to change. The Program focuses on the complex interplay amongst and between hydrologic, geomorphic, and geochemical processes and how they regulate the structure and function of the Earth s near surface. These processes drive weathering and soil development, control water availability and quality, and help regulate the Earth s climate system, all of which are important for natural resource sustainability and mitigation of natural hazards. It is expected that the research funded in this program will advance fundamental knowledge in Earth surface processes, leading to transformational discoveries in Earth Sciences.

Bureau of Reclamation

Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe Water Settlement Act of 1994; P.L. 103-434, Section XII Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project

National Park Service

Piedmont-South Atlantic Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network. The project objective is to gather accurate and defensible information that will help effectively manage visitor use, outdoor recreation and recreation ecology to maximize visitor experience.

National Park Service

CSU staff will continue to work with the NPS Water Resources Division (WRD) to research and develop new tools, techniques, and databases to quality assure and archive NPS-collected water quality data in the EPA s STORET Data Warehouse and the National Water Quality Monitoring Council s Water Quality Portal to make them available to EPA, states, and the public. This includes continued research and ongoing development of NPSTORET and the various electronic data deliverable format specifications that will be made available for public use. EarthSoft s EQuIS and Aquatic Informatics Aquarius will be integrated into the process for providing NPS data to the EPA and the public. NPS continuous and discrete water resources data will be archived and made available for Clean Water Act assessments. Other legacy, non-database records and documents will be organized, archived, and made available for dissemination unless prevented by other mandates. A system for providing the public with the impairment status of NPS waters will be updated.

National Park Service

In 2011, MEVE staff asked NPS-Water Resources Division (WRD) staff to evaluate site conditions in hopes of restoring the abandoned pond to wetland habitat. The liner has been removed, but 6-12 of bentonite remains on top of the native soil (sandy clay). WRD and park staff installed 10 wells in the abandoned pond in late summer 2011 for purposes of investigating site hydrology and developing and evaluating feasibility of restoration design concepts. The goal of the project is to establish an approximately 1.6 acre wetland system at the abandoned wastewater treatment pond.

National Park Service

The objective of this agreement is to partner with TAS to support collaborative ecosystem monitoring on Chihuahuan Desert parks. Specifically, TAS experts will conduct bird community surveys at Big Bend NP. In addition, TAS experts will conduct upland vegetation (native and invasive) monitoring at Amistad NRA, Big Bend NP, Carlsbad Caverns NP, Fort Davis NHS, Guadalupe Mountains NP, and White Sands NM. Finally, TAS experts will populate a shared groundwater database and conduct seeps/springs monitoring at Amistad NRA, Big Bend NP, Carlsbad Caverns NP, Guadalupe Mountains NP, and White Sands NM. Field data collection will follow accepted, published monitoring protocols. TAS staff will also process all field data, voucher any new plant species, and conduct data quality assurance/quality control procedures on the resulting data. In conjunction, with NPS scientists and other TAS taxon experts, the TAS field technicians will contribute towards annual reports and public information products.

National Park Service

This project will engage graduate students in the development of a conceptual plan for the Chattahoochee National Water Trail that focuses on, but is not limited to, integration of over-night camping as an opportunity for hikers and paddlers at the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA) to enhance public enjoyment.

Golden Field Office

The purpose of this Notice is to provide potential applicants advance notice that the Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO),on behalf of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), intends to issue Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0001905 entitled "Energy-Water Desalination Hub". This FOA will support the establishment of an Energy Innovation Hub in the area of Energy-Water Desalination (referred to as the Hub ) to accelerate transformational advances in science and engineering focused on reducing the energy and cost requirements of desalination to provide clean and safe water. The Hub will include highly collaborative research teams, spanning multiple scientific, engineering, and where appropriate, economic and public policy disciplines. By bringing together top talent from across the full spectrum of research and development (R&D) performers including universities, private industry, non-profits, and National Laboratories the Hub will serve as the world-leading R&D center in Energy-Water Desalination. THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT (NOI) ONLY. This Notice is issued so that interested parties are aware of the EERE s intention to issue this FOA in the near term. All of the information contained in this Notice is subject to change. EERE may issue a FOA as described herein, may issue a FOA that is significantly different from the FOA described herein, or EERE may not issue a FOA at all. Complete information, including the full Notice of Intent, can be found on the EERE Exchange website: https://eere- exchange.energy.gov/

Department of Commerce

B-WET Chesapeake is a competitive grant program that supports existing, high quality environmental education programs, fosters the growth of new, innovative programs, and encourages capacity building and partnership development for environmental education programs throughout the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed. Successful projects advance the goals of the NOAA Education Strategic Plan and the Mid Atlantic Elementary and Secondary Environmental Literacy Strategy by providing hands-on environmental education about issues affecting the Chesapeake Bay watershed for students, related professional development for teachers, and/or capacity building for watershed education. These Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) integrate field experiences with classroom activities and instruction in NOAA-related content.

National Park Service

Understanding the role of increasing water quality and groundwater inputs on ecosystem structure, function, and health in Big Bend National Park

Golden Field Office

The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to provide potential applicants advance notice of a proposed upcoming Funding Opportunity Announcement initially titled: In-Water Wave Energy Conversion (WEC) Device Testing Support. NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH THIS NOTICE. Prospective applicants should begin developing partnerships, formulating ideas, and gathering data in anticipation of the issuance of this FOA. It is anticipated that this FOA will be posted to EERE Exchange in FY12. Please do not respond or submit questions in response to this Notice of Intent. DOE intends to fund one industry-led project that will deploy a long-term (one year) in-water WEC device. The device will be deployed at the Navy Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) facility in Kaneohe Bay on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. The full Notice of Intent (NOI) is posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov. The applicant must first register and create an account on the EERE eXCHANGE website. A User Guide for the EERE eXCHANGE can be found on the EERE website http://eere.energy.gov/financing/exchangeExchange/Manuals.aspx after logging in to the system.

Golden Field Office

The purpose of this modification is to extend the deadline for responses to April 5, 2019. Complete information on this RFI can be found on the EERE Exchange website - https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/ The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) is seeking feedback on its proposed Waves to Water prize via this Request for Information (RFI). The Waves to Water prize seeks to address water security and energy needs in remote and coastal communities through small, modular, cost-competitive desalination systems that use the power of the ocean to provide potable drinking water. The objective of this effort is to develop technology solutions that harness ocean energy to desalinate water. Through an anticipated multi-phased contest, the prize seeks to accelerate an innovation cycle timeline that can typically take years and support new innovators and organizations seeking to pair desalination systems with marine energy. Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to WPTOPrizes@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on April 5, 2019. Complete information on this RFI can be found on the EERE Exchange website - https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/

National Park Service

The objective of this Agreement is to document groundwater levels and water chemistry within and below the Arches National Park Groundwater Protection Zone.

National Park Service

This is not a request for application. This serves as public notice of the National Park Services intention to fund project activities with full and open competition. The broad goals of this agreement include restoring habitat for federally listed threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead restoring National Park Service and adjacent lands within the Columbia River estuary and restoring the historic scene at the NPS and adjacent lands within the Columbia River estuary by restoring the natural setting

Department of Commerce

The Great Lakes B-WET grant program is a competitively based program that supports existing environmental education programs, fosters the growth of new programs, and encourages the development of partnerships among environmental education programs throughout the Great Lakes watershed. Projects support organizations that provide students "meaningful" watershed educational experiences and teachers professional development opportunities in the area of environmental education, while helping to support regional education and environmental priorities in the Great Lakes.

U.S. National Science Foundation

The Directorate for Engineering at the National Science Foundation (NSF) has established a partnership with the Fuel Cell Technologies (FCT) Office of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in order to address critical fundamental and applied research challenges associated with advanced technologies for the production of hydrogen fuel via solar water splitting processes. The goal of the partnership is to leverage the complementary missions of applied research, development and demonstration (DOE) and use-inspired fundamental research and education (NSF) to address issues of national importance that impact the sustainable production of fuels using renewable resources. The Directorate for Engineering seeks proposals with transformative ideas that meet the detailed requirements delineated in this solicitation.

Bureau of Reclamation

Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe Water Settlement Act of 1994; P.L. 103-434, as amended by P.L.105-62 and P.L.106-372: Title XII Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project, Sec 1203 and 1207 (applicable subsections listed only).

Golden Field Office

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Wind and Water Power Technologies Office (WWPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled ?Water Power Manufacturing?. This FOA supports the application of advanced materials and advanced manufacturing techniques to the development of new hydropower technologies. With the significant advancements realized over the last decade, the application of advanced materials, and Computer Aided Design (CAD) driven, additive manufacturing technologies can effectively push the performance and speed the adoption of new hydropower technologies. There is a significant opportunity to substantially increase hydropower generation at low-head sites in the US and around the world (?low-head? = sites with heads in the range of 2-20 meters, or 6-66 feet). These ?new? hydropower opportunities, which are typically capable of generating between 100 kW - 30 MW, are readily present at existing non-powered dams, and existing constrained waterways (to include canals and conduits). The ability to leverage existing water resource infrastructure makes these sites particularly attractive from an economic and permitting perspective. For example, these sites (non-powered dams and constrained waterways) tend to have roads and transmission lines already established on-site (or at least within close-proximity), and as the core infrastructure is already in place (dams and/or man-made conduits and canals), there would be minimal environmental impact due to the addition of a hydropower unit. The development of low-cost, integrated hydropower turbine-generator sets capable of delivering cost-competitive electricity from these resources and within these head ranges is critical to fully exploit this emerging global opportunity. The following criteria are considered essential design elements in this regard: ? Modular, self-contained units: hydropower turbine-generator units should be relatively lightweight and be designed to be readily packaged to ease shipment and installation upon delivery. ? Variable Speed: High efficiency across a range of flows. ? Cost Competitive: Capital costs at full-scale production runs of less than $2k/kW, and an LCOE of $0.06/kW-hr or less: Systems must be able to compete with local hurdle rates. ? Minimize costs of manufacturing, operations and maintenance, and repair: The application of advanced materials and advanced manufacturing techniques to maximize the efficiency of unit production; and improve performance, survivability, and reparability of hydro turbine generator sets should yield cost-competitive, high performance systems with broad applicability. ? Ecologically non-disruptive: turbine/generator units should not have a significantly deleterious effect on marine life compared to the existing resource and infrastructure. The purpose of this Notice is to provide potential applicants advance notice that the Wind and Water Power Technologies Office, on behalf of EERE intends to issue a FOA titled, ?Water Power Manufacturing?. NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH THIS NOTICE. Please do not submit questions or respond to this Notice of Intent. Prospective applicants to the FOA should begin developing partnerships, formulating ideas, and gathering data in anticipation of the issuance of this FOA. It is anticipated that this FOA will be posted to EERE Exchange no later than April 2014. This Notice is issued so that interested parties are aware of the EERE?s intention to issue this FOA in the near term. All of the information contained in this Notice is subject to change. EERE will not respond to questions concerning this Notice. Once the FOA has been released, EERE will provide an avenue for potential Applicants to submit questions.

National Park Service

Results of the study will be used to inform federal land managers and developers in determining alternative approaches for managing in-stream and floodplain timber to protect mission sensitive resources and/or avoid development in areas that may be at risk.

National Park Service

This task agreement outlines a partnership between NPS and River Network with the goal of developing networks and tools that are of benefit to various audiences, including the public, national water trail managers, NPS staff, watershed conservation groups, and NPS partners. This collaborative effort will focus on several projects that are ranked highly by the national river and watershed conservation community, including: promotion of local river conservation and protection efforts by communities, national water trail network support, and building a river and watershed conservation directory.

Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Office

Click on the Full Announcement button near the top of this Synopsis page to access the full Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) document. Under the Rural Water Supply Program, Reclamation will work on a cost-shared basis with small communities in rural areas throughout the Reclamation states to assess their potable water supply needs and to identify options to address those needs. Under this FOA, eligible applicants are invited to leverage their money and resources by cost sharing with Reclamation on appraisal investigations and feasibility studies. An appraisal investigation is an analysis of domestic, municipal, and industrial water supply problems, needs, and opportunities primarily using existing data and includes a preliminary assessment of alternatives to determine if there is at least one viable alternative that warrants a subsequent feasibility study. A feasibility study is a detailed evaluation of the technical and economic feasibility of a reasonable range of alternatives based on detailed investigations requiring the acquisition of primary data, including an assessment of its environmental impacts as required by the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). A feasibility study provides the basis for making recommendations to Congress about whether a proposed project should be authorized for construction. Reclamation anticipates awarding between 6 and 10 investigations and studies under this FOA.

National Park Service

The objective of this Cooperative Agreement is to provide curriculum-based Watershed Education for Teachers (WET) and Discover a Watershed the Colorado River Professional Development Education for Teachers. This curriculum-based program will be presented to approximately 150 teachers in at least 6 workshops. The teacher workshops will enable a greater understanding of the Colorado River watershed by teachers and students in Clark County. Clark County is the largest county within the state of Nevada. The workshops will provide educators with additional teaching strategies for Clark County School District s Next Generation Science Standards.

National Park Service

This project will provide intern assistance to the NPS for monitoring of water quality, vegetation, and other significant resources at 14 national park units. This information is useful to parks for visitor-use and for handling management issues such as prescribed fire. Interns will receive on-the-job learning experiences with resources of the national park system via professional mentoring.