The US government’s Bureau of Reclamation published on 15 October 2010 the funding criteria under its Title XVI – Water Recycling & Reuse Program for two new funding opportunity announcements in fiscal year 2011.
Following public comment, the final funding criteria and a compilation of the public comments received are available online.
This fall, two funding opportunities will be posted at www.grants.gov. One opportunity will be open for construction of Title XVI projects, while a second will provide cost-shared assistance for the development of feasibility studies under the program.
Title XVI of PL 102-575 provides authority for Reclamation’s water recycling and reuse program and is focused on identifying and investigating opportunities to reclaim and reuse wastewaters and naturally impaired ground and surface water in the 17 Western States and Hawaii. Title XVI projects have the potential to stretch water supplies using both time-tested methodologies and piloting new concepts.
WaterSMART is a program of the US Department of the Interior that focuses on improving water conservation and helping water-resource managers make sound decisions about water use. It identifies strategies to ensure that this and future generations will have sufficient supplies of clean water for drinking, economic activities, recreation, and ecosystem health. The Program also identifies adaptive measures to address climate change and its impact on future water demands.