WaterSMART: Applied Science Grants
Funds applied science projects to improve hydrologic data access, water management tools, and hydrologic modeling/forecasting for water supply reliability, with universities eligible only as partners to Category A entities in the western U.S. or listed territories.
RESTRICTED TO: STATE LOCAL GOV · TRIBAL ENTITIES · NONPROFITS · SINGLE NAMED INSTITUTION
⚑ Category A lead applicants limited to States, Indian tribes, irrigation districts, water districts, certain local/regional authorities, and other water/power delivery entities; Category B universities may apply only in partnership with a Category A entity. · Category A applicants must be located in the Western United States or specified U.S. territories. · Not open to federal entities, individuals, commercial/industrial organizations, or private entities. · Funding cap is $400,000.
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 55 good | technical depth: substantial; funds applied research |
| IPPRA | 45 partial | portfolio topics: water_resources, climate_weather, environment (primary); social/behavioral work is none; funds applied research; university can only partner, not lead; capped at 45 (limited social-science role) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 5 none | not openly competed |
Description
Through WaterSMART, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) leverages Federal and non-Federal funding to work cooperatively with States, Tribes, and local entities as they plan 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 goal of the WaterSMART Applied Science Grants (ASG) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to invite eligible entities to apply for funding to improve access to and use of hydrologic data, develop and improve water management tools, and improve hydrologic modeling and forecasting capabilities.Water managers and reservoir operators rely on hydrologic data, modeling, and water supply forecasts to make decisions to meet future water demands. Water supply forecasts are estimates of current and future water supplies based on measured basin conditions (e.g., such as the quantity of upstream mountain snowpack). Results from these projects will be used by water managers to increase water supply reliability to meet water delivery requirements (e.g., compacts, decrees, etc.), provide flexibility in water operations to be more resilient during droughts, and enhance water supply forecasts to better predict floods and optimize limited water supplies. Example projects include improving operational models for irrigation water deliveries or reservoir operations, improving the use of snow monitoring technologies to enhance the skill of water supply forecasts, and improving data acquisition, data analysis, and data delivery, including the development of hydrologic databases.The ASG NOFO will build on and complement projects funded under the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Funding Opportunity by providing funding for applicants to improve the integration of innovative snow measurement data into water supply forecasts.
Eligibility
Category A Applicants:States, Indian tribes, irrigation districts, water districts;State, Regional, or local authorities whose members include one or more organizations with water or power delivery authority; and other organizations with water or power delivery authority.All Category A applicants must be located in the Western United States or United States Territories, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.Category B Applicants:Universities, nonprofit research institutions, nonprofit organizations, and Federally-funded research and development centers that are acting in partnership with the agreement of an entity described in Category A. All Category B applicants must be in the United States or the specific Territories identified above.Ineligible Applicants:Those not eligible include the following entities:Federal Governmental EntitiesIndividualsCommercial/industrial organizationsPrivate entities
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: Bureau of Reclamation <mstonebridge@usbr.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
| 2026-07-06 | Survey-based study of how Oklahoma water managers and rural communities use seasonal droug |
Proposal shell · Federal (generic) conventions SEE A FEDERAL EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — Federal (generic)'s document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.
Legacy IPPRA LLM assessment (v2.0, for comparison)
83/100 · gpt-5.4-mini · 2026-07-06
This is a strong fit for IPPRA because it funds applied water-supply forecasting, hydrologic data use, and water-management tools that directly support drought/flood resilience and water reliability. While the work is technical, there is a meaningful research component that could include human decision-making, forecast use, and operational decision support; public universities are eligible as Category B partners with a Category A water entity.
Legacy scoring history
| 2026-07-06 | 83 | gpt-5.4-mini | This is a strong fit for IPPRA because it funds applied water-supply forecasting, hydrologic data use, and water-management tools that directly support drought/flood resilience and water reliability. While the work is technical, there is a meaningful research component that could include human decision-making, forecast use, and operational decision support; public universities are eligible as Category B partners with a Category A water entity. |
| 2026-07-06 | 78 | gpt-5.4-mini | This is a strong match for IPPRA’s weather/climate/water portfolio because it funds hydrologic data use, water supply forecasting, drought/flood resilience, and decision tools for water managers. The core work is technical, but there is a meaningful applied policy/operations dimension around water management, forecasting use, and resilience, which IPPRA could plausibly support as a Category B university partner. Eligible public universities can apply only in partnership with a Category A water-authority entity, so OU would be eligible as a named research partner rather than a lead applicant. |