Water Conservation Field Services Program

The Water Conservation Field Services Program (WCFSP) was established by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1996 to proactively encourage water conservation in the operations of recipients of water from Federal water projects and to assist agricultural and urban water districts in preparing and implementing water conservation plans in accordance with the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982. The WCFSP is managed by each of Reclamation's regional offices and implemented at the local level through Reclamation's area offices to address Reclamation-wide water conservation priorities and to meet local goals. Funding is used to make cost-shared financial assistance available on a competitive basis at the area and regional office levels, as well as for technical assistance from Reclamation staff. Funding may be used to develop water conservation plans, identify water management improvements through System Optimization Reviews, design water management improvements, and to improve application of water conservation technologies through demonstration activities.

Technical Assistance:

Technical assistance involves water districts and other entities working directly with Reclamation staff to address water management issues. Technical assistance includes water conservation planning for improved canal operation and diversion works, improved or innovative water measurement, delivery, distribution, and urban conservation retrofit programs.

Financial Assistance:

Financial assistance is provided through a cost-share grant process, with funding areas focused on water management planning. Current funding opportunities are posted on Grants.gov (Assistance Listing 15.530); check the program page and your regional Reclamation office for the latest solicitation.

• Develop or Update Water Management and Conservation Plan

• System Optimization Review (SOR): assesses the potential for water management improvements and identifies a plan of action to enhance water management (may include SCADA and automation to reduce spills, over-deliveries, and seepage).

• Design of Water Management Improvements: funds the design of identified improvement projects (e.g., pipelines, canal lining, water measurement structures) following prior planning efforts. Further engineering and construction may be eligible under WaterSMART Grants.

• Demonstration of Conservation Technologies: supports demonstration of new or innovative technologies (e.g., improved water measurement, automation and telemetry, approaches to minimizing canal/ditch seepage, on-farm irrigation management, low water-usage landscape).

• States, Indian tribes, irrigation districts, water districts, or other organizations with water or power delivery authority.

• Applicants must be located in a Bureau of Reclamation region that offers the program (Columbia-Pacific Northwest, Lower Colorado Basin, or Upper Colorado Basin); the California-Great Basin and Missouri Basin regions do not offer it.

• Applicants must be located within the area covered by the regional funding notice they apply under.

• The program serves recipients of water from Federal Reclamation projects, including agricultural and urban water districts.

• The proposed activity must be on a Reclamation project or in an area with a defined relationship to a Reclamation project.

• Applicants must cost-share at least 50 percent of total project costs.

• Federal government entities, institutions of higher education, individuals, and 501(c)(6) organizations are not eligible.

Cost-shared, competitive financial assistance plus free technical assistance from Reclamation staff. The program page publishes no rate or ceiling of its own: "Funding is used to make cost-shared financial assistance available on a competitive basis at the area and regional office levels, as well as for technical assistance from Reclamation staff."

The numbers live in each regional office's annual Notice of Funding Opportunity on Grants.gov (Assistance Listing 15.530), and they differ by region and year. Recent WCFSP notices there have posted per-award ceilings between $50,000 and $100,000 with cost sharing required — FY2025 (R25AS00022) listed an award ceiling of $100,000 against $500,000 in estimated total program funding, while FY2024 (R24AS00145) listed a $50,000 ceiling against $250,000. Because the ceiling and the cost-share split are set regionally, read the live NOFO for your region rather than assuming either figure.

What the money can pay for: developing or updating a Water Management and Conservation Plan; a System Optimization Review; design of identified water management improvements (pipelines, canal lining, measurement structures); and demonstration of conservation technologies. Engineering and construction generally fall to WaterSMART Grants instead.

Two eligibility facts that decide whether this is even available to you: assistance is aimed at districts and entities receiving water from Federal Reclamation projects, and "California-Great Basin and Missouri Basin do not offer a WCFSP." Live regional coordinators are Columbia-Pacific Northwest (April Blue), Lower Colorado Basin (Joy Orsini), and Upper Colorado Basin (Gary McRae).

As of this check no WCFSP notice was open — the most recent was FY2025, closed Jan. 31, 2025. Contact your regional coordinator for the next cycle.

For more information regarding the Water Conservation Field Services Program, please contact Sheri Looper.

The program is administered locally by regional Bureau of Reclamation offices, and each region issues its own funding notice. Find current opportunities on Grants.gov under Assistance Listing 15.530.