WaterSMART Desalination Construction Program

The Desalination Construction Program provides up to 25 percent cost-shared financial assistance for entities to plan, design, and/or construct ocean or brackish water desalination facilities. Desalination projects help communities to diversify their

The WaterSMART: Desalination Construction Projects funding opportunity invites eligible applicants to submit proposals for the planning, design, and/or construction of facilities to desalinate seawater or brackish surface water or groundwater. By providing communities with new sources of local water supply, desalination projects diversify the water supply portfolio, increase water management flexibility during times of shortage, and make the water supply more reliable.

Eligible applicants include States, departments of a State, subdivisions of a State, or public agencies organized pursuant to a state law located within Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Anyone in the general public that benefits from the additional drought resistant water source created, States, departments of a State, subdivisions of a State, or public agencies organized pursuant to a state law previously described in applicant eligibility.

This assistance can be used to advance desalination construction projects. Common project activities include planning and pre-final design activities, final design, construction of facilities and conveyance systems.

The costs for preparing and submitting an application in response to this funding opportunity, including developing data necessary to support the proposal, are not eligible project costs and must not be included in the project budget. Feasibility Study costs: The costs for preparing and submitting desalination construction feasibility studies to meet the requirements of Reclamation's Directives and Standards WTR 11-01, Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program and Desalination Construction Program Feasibility Study Review Process, or the additional requirements established in WTR TRMR-128, Large-Scale Water Recycling Program Feasibility Study Review Process are not eligible project costs and must not be included in the project budget. While the Project Narrative and responses to the Merit Review Criteria should include the scope of the project as a whole, budgets submitted may only include costs incurred after the date of Reclamation's feasibility determination, and within three years from the application deadline for the funding opportunity.

Preapplication coordination is required. Potential new projects must be eligible under the authorizing legislation, which includes a finding that a feasibility study for the project meets program requirements. Potential applicants must contact regional program staff to discuss submission of a feasibility study. Contact information can be found at https://www.usbr.gov/watersmart/title/index.html Projects funded under this program are subject to environmental and cultural resource compliance. The level of compliance for projects funded under this program will vary depending on the scope and complexity of the project being funded. Environmental and cultural resource compliance is required before the commencement of project activities.

Criteria are specified in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. For more information, see https://www.usbr.gov./watersmart.

Proposals received in response to the funding opportunity are reviewed through a competitive, merit-based review process, and are rated in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated in the funding opportunity. Reclamation will make awards to the highest rated proposals based on the amount of funding available each year.

Application deadlines are listed in the Notice of Funding Opportunities and vary from year to year. Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines