WASHINGTON — The Bureau of Reclamation today announced a new funding opportunity through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda for projects that are environmentally focused and have additional water savings benefits. The funding will restore habitats and assist in species recovery, while providing water savings to help increase resiliency against prolonged drought driven by climate change. This investment is made available through the Inflation Reduction Act—the largest ever climate investment — for use in the Upper Basin States of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
"This additional funding opportunity continues to help our partners achieve great things in the Upper Colorado River Basin, producing crucial environmental benefits, driving water savings and mitigating drought severity in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming," said Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. "Reclamation will continue to work collaboratively with our partners to leverage this historical investment from the Biden-Harris administration to benefit ecosystem health and water resources while promoting stability and sustainability of the Colorado River system."
Today’s announcement follows the release of five alternatives last month that will be analyzed as part of the Post-2026 Operations for the Colorado River Basin. Since Day One of the Biden-Harris administration, the Department has led critical discussions over how to bring the Colorado River back from the brink of crisis in the face of a 24-year drought and provide for more resilient, reliable, and sustainable water use into the future. Having achieved overwhelming success in 2023 on interim operation plans to guide operations through 2026 with a historic consensus agreement, and following more than a year of collaboration with the states and Tribes who call the Colorado River Basin home, the release of alternatives is the next step in a responsible path to guide post-2026 operations for the Colorado River.
In October 2022, the Department announced an investment from the Inflation Reduction Act in long-term system efficiency improvements across the basin, including at least $500 million in the Upper Basin States to result in additional water savings, environmental benefits, and ecosystem and habitat restoration. Reclamation is implementing the use of these funds in two phases. For the earlier phase, Reclamation invested nearly $50 million to support the relaunch of a System Conservation Pilot Program (SCPP) in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The SCPP was administered in water years 2023 and 2024 and conserved a total of 104,000 acre-feet of water by the end of this September.
The initial “B2E” application period for environmentally focused projects without additional water savings benefits closed Nov. 22, 2024. Selections are anticipated to be made in early 2025. Today’s solicitation is for projects that provide environmental benefits but also result in additional water savings benefits.
President Biden’s Investing in America agenda represents the largest investment in climate resilience in the nation’s history and is providing much-needed resources to enhance Western communities’ resilience to drought and climate change. Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Reclamation is investing a total of $8.3 billion over five years for water infrastructure projects, including rural water, water storage, conservation and conveyance, nature-based solutions, dam safety, water purification and reuse, and desalination. The Inflation Reduction Act provides an additional $4.6 billion to strengthen drought resilience across the West. To date, Reclamation has announced more than $3.2 billion from Inflation Reduction Act for 223 drought mitigation projects, 39 domestic water supply projects, 7 emergency relief for tribal projects and 4 canal improvement projects.
Applicants must be a public or Tribal entity or be partnered with such an entity to implement the project. More detailed information, including additional eligibility and evaluation criteria and how to apply, can be found at the Upper Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program website. Applications for this new funding opportunity will be accepted through Jan. 10, 2025.
