The Bureau of Reclamation announced Aug. 31 that it selected 82 projects to share $5.5 million in WaterSMART Small Scale Water Efficiency grants.
"Through a relatively small investment, Reclamation can support western communities with grant funding to improve water conservation and reliability," Chief Engineer David Raff said. "These small, community-driven projects help improve water resiliency in these communities as they seek to meet future water needs."
Projects range from $7,000 to $75,000, the release stated. According to the release, each project is required to provide at least a 50% cost-share.
The approved projects include: nine in Arizona, 22 in California, seven in Colorado, eight in Idaho, one in Kansas, two in Montana, two in North Dakota, two in Nebraska, one in New Mexico, four in Nevada, one in Oklahoma, four in Oregon, one in South Dakota, two in Texas, 11 in Utah, and five in Washington, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
In Fountain, Colorado, $7,053 was awarded to upgrade 210 sprinkler heads at Fountain Mesa Park.
In Long Beach, California, $75,000 has been allocated to replace 50,000 square feet of turf with drought-tolerant landscaping.
The program supports the Biden-Harris administration's executive order on tackling the 'climate crisis' "increases a community's resilience to the impacts of climate change."
