WaterSMART Cooperative Watershed Management Program Phase II | BOR DO 18 F013

Opportunity Information: Apply for BOR DO 18 F013

The WaterSMART Cooperative Watershed Management Program Phase II grant opportunity is a discretionary funding program offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). It is designed to support natural resources work at the watershed scale, with an emphasis on cooperative, locally driven efforts that bring multiple stakeholders together to improve water management outcomes. The opportunity is identified as "WaterSMART Cooperative Watershed Management Program Phase II" under Funding Opportunity Number BOR DO 18 F013, and it uses federal financial assistance mechanisms including cooperative agreements and grants. In practice, that means selected projects may either receive a traditional grant (where the recipient carries out the work with standard oversight) or a cooperative agreement (where Reclamation expects to have more substantial involvement during project implementation, such as collaboration on technical approach, coordination, or project management elements).

This funding opportunity falls under the Natural Resources activity category and is associated with CFDA Number 15.554, which is Reclamation's WaterSMART program listing. The program typically aligns with broader WaterSMART goals that focus on improving water supply reliability, increasing water efficiency, reducing conflict risk, and promoting collaborative solutions to water challenges. The "Phase II" label signals that the program is intended for efforts that are beyond early-stage organizing and are ready to carry out more developed, on-the-ground watershed management activities, generally building on prior planning, partnerships, and agreed-upon watershed priorities.

Awards under this opportunity have a maximum federal funding amount (award ceiling) of $300,000 per award. The announcement anticipates making approximately 10 awards, indicating a competitive selection process where projects are likely evaluated against program criteria such as watershed benefits, feasibility, stakeholder collaboration, readiness to proceed, and the expected value of federal investment. The opportunity was created on October 10, 2018, and the original application deadline (closing date) was January 30, 2019. Those dates are important historically for this particular notice, but they also help place the program within Reclamation's recurring WaterSMART funding cycles, where similar opportunities may reappear in later years under updated announcements.

Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with additional detail referenced in the notice's "Additional Information on Eligibility" section. In federal grant language, that category often means the program can be open to a mix of applicant types beyond just state or local governments, potentially including special districts, tribes, nonprofits, academic institutions, and other entities involved in watershed management, depending on how the specific notice defines eligible recipients. Because the summary data points to that additional eligibility text for clarification, the exact list of eligible applicant types would be determined by the full announcement language rather than the headline category alone.

Overall, this opportunity provides moderate-sized awards intended to catalyze practical, partnership-based watershed management work. It emphasizes collaboration across a watershed, coordinated implementation rather than isolated single-entity projects, and measurable natural resources and water management benefits consistent with Reclamation's WaterSMART mission.

• The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "WaterSMART Cooperative Watershed Management Program Phase II" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.554.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 10, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 30, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $300,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for BOR DO 18 F013

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