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The rivers of the Central Valley of California support populations of Fall Run Chinook, Spring Run Chinook, and Winter Run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Steelhead Trout (O. Mykiss). Water resources development, stream channel manipulations, and other anthropogenic actions have reduced and modified historical salmonid habitats. Gravel is regularly transported from spawning sites on the river and there is less utilizable rearing habitat. Infrastructure entrains juveniles, impairs passage, and increases susceptibility to predation.Relevant purposes of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) include:To protect, restore, and enhance fish, wildlife, and associated habitats in the Central Valley and Trinity River basins of California;To address impacts of the Central Valley Project (CVP) on fish, wildlife and associated habitats;To improve the operational flexibility of the CVP;To achieve a reasonable balance among competing demands for use of CVP water, including the requirements of fish and wildlife, agricultural, municipal and industrial and power contractors.

Established in 1902, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is best known for the dams, powerplants, and canals it constructed in the 17 western states. These water projects led to homesteading and promoted the economic development of the West. Reclamation has constructed more than 600 dams and reservoirs including Hoover Dam on the Colorado River and Grand Coulee on the Columbia River. Today, we are the largest wholesaler of water in the country. We bring water to more than 31 million people, and provide one out of five Western farmers (140,000) with irrigation water for 10 million acres of farmland that produce 60 percent of the nation's vegetables and 25 percent of its fruits and nuts. Reclamation is also the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the United States. Our 53 powerplants annually provide more than 40 billion kilowatt hours generating nearly a billion dollars in power revenues and produce enough electricity to serve 3.5 million homes. Today, Reclamation is a contemporary water management agency with a Strategic Plan outlining numerous programs, initiatives and activities that will help the Western States, Native American Tribes and others meet new water needs and balance the multitude of competing uses of water in the West. Our mission is to assist in meeting the increasing water demands of the West while protecting the environment and the public's investment in these structures. We place great emphasis on fulfilling our water delivery obligations, water conservation, water recycling and reuse, and developing partnerships with our customers, states, and Native American Tribes, and in finding ways to bring together the variety of interests to address the competing needs for our limited water resources. The Department of the Interior under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018: Public Law 115-141, Section 115, Experienced Services Program, to enter into cooperative agreements with, private nonprofit organizations designated by the Secretary of Labor under Title V of the Older Americans Act of 1965 to utilize the talents of older Americans in programs authorized by other provisions of law administered by the Secretary and consistent with such provisions of law.

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The objectives of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) are to develop innovative and disruptive new technologies or processes to: Reduce the costs, energy requirements, and/or environmental impacts of treating impaired and unusable water to standards necessary for an identified beneficial use. Improve efficiency of water treatment processes—either by improvements to pre-treatment, post-treatment, monitoring, sensors, or other innovative process/technology. Increase effectiveness of reverse osmosis/nanofiltration concentrate management by reducing cost, energy, and/or environmental impacts. Treat brackish groundwater in a less energy-intensive way than current processes and technologies. Address costs, energy usage, and/or environmental impacts of seawater desalination, including intakes and/or outfalls Improve the detection, characterization, monitoring, separation, or destruction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and other contaminants of concern.

Please see the related documents tab for the Full Funding Opportunity Document with additional information

This Water and Energy Efficiency Grants Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) provides funding for projects that result in quantifiable water savings, implement renewable energy components, and support broader sustainability benefits. These projects conserve and use water more efficiently; increase the production of renewable energy; mitigate conflict risk in areas at a high risk of future water conflict; and accomplish other benefits that contribute to sustainability in the Western United States.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) supports Drought Resiliency Projects that will build long-term resilience to drought and reduce the need for emergency response actions. These projects are generally in the final design stage—environmental and cultural resources compliance may have been initiated, and the non-Federal funding, necessary permits, and other required approvals have been secured.

Reclamation will provide funding for small-scale on-the-ground water efficiency projects which seek to implement work identified in an applicant’s water planning efforts. Example projects include, but are not limited to: Canal lining/piping Municipal metering Irrigation flow measurement Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition and Automation (SCADA) Landscape Irrigation measures High-Efficiency Indoor Appliances and Fixtures Upgrades to Commercial Cooling Systems to Improve Water Use Efficiency Other projects that are similar to those tasks listed above may be submitted for consideration and will be allowed to the extent that they are consistent with program authorization and goals.

The WaterSMART Applied Science Grants provide support for priorities identified in Presidential Executive Order (E.O.) 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad and aligned with other priorities, such as those identified in E.O. 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. Applied Science projects also support the goals of the Interagency Drought Relief Working Group established in March 2021 and the National Drought Resiliency Partnership. The objective of this NOFO is to invite eligible non-Federal entities to leverage their money and resources by cost sharing with Reclamation on applied science projects (Project) to improve access to and use of hydrologic data as well as to develop and improve water management tools and improve modeling and forecasting capabilities. Results from these projects will be used by water managers to increase water supply reliability, provide flexibility in water operations, and improve water management. Project results must be readily applicable by water managers—resulting in tools and information that can be used to support: water supply reliability, water delivery management, water marketing activities, drought management activities, conjunctive use of ground and surface water, water rights administration, ability to meet endangered species requirements, watershed health, conservation and efficiency, and other water management objectives.