2027 Citizen Water Quality Monitoring Gran

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Water Resources Division is issuing a Request for Applications for the 2027 Citizen Water Quality Monitoring Grant Program, with applications due August 31, 2026. This is a subrecipient grant opportunity for public bodies and nonprofit environmental organizations, not a competitive procurement for private-sector goods or services.

Eligible applicants include individuals, community organizations, watershed-based organizations, secondary schools, colleges, universities, and nonprofits conducting volunteer-based water quality monitoring across Virginia. The program prioritizes projects generating high-quality monitoring data on publicly accessible waterbodies, covering large geographic areas with minimal overlap with other monitoring efforts, demonstrating extensive volunteer engagement, and benefiting low-income populations and communities of color.

Three tiered grant awards are available: Mini-Grants (up to $1,000 for organizations without DEQ grants in the previous three years), Regular Grants (up to $5,000 for any applicant with water quality monitoring experience), and Coordination Grants (up to $11,000 for organizations coordinating multiple monitoring groups or generating substantial high-quality data). Total appropriation in a typical fiscal year is up to $88,000 distributed competitively. No matching funds are required, though applicants are encouraged to secure additional funding sources.

Equipment, laboratory, and contractual costs must comprise at least 80 percent of the total request; administrative and travel costs cannot exceed 20 percent. Mileage reimbursement follows the IRS charitable rate of $0.14 per mile. Regular and Coordination grant applicants must develop a DEQ-approved Quality Assurance Project Plan and generate at least one parameter of Level II or Level III data; only Level III data can be used to list or delist waters on Virginia's 303(d) Impaired Waters List. Applications require a cover page, budget workbook, monitoring plan workbook, draft QAPP (where applicable), Data Use Authorization Form, and COV W9 form submitted to citizenwater@deq.virginia.gov or via standard mail. Funded activities commence January 1, 2027 and must complete by December 31, 2027. Award notification is expected in early 2027. An interim report is due July 9, 2027, and a final report with data submission is due February 1, 2028.