As part of the American Rescue Plan Act, a total of $5 million in federal funding has been allocated for technical assistance grants that will enable eligible entities to work with the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) contractors or to hire contractors to expand their capacity and expertise, in pursuit of federal funding opportunities that directly support the Colorado Water Plan objectives. The allowable uses of this grant funding are broad in scope, to allow for the wide range of federal opportunities available. Funding can be used for: preliminary project planning and design, preliminary permitting, development of estimated project costs, navigation of available federal opportunities, grant writing, and federal grant application submittal. A minimum of 25% matching funds is required. Grants will be awarded on a rolling basis through December 2024; grant funds must be fully expended by December 2026.
There are two categories of technical assistance for federal grants:
- Local Capacity Grants: There is $2.5 million total available for technical assistance for local water projects in which local grantees hire their own contractor(s) to assist with the application process. This funding is currently available.
- CWCB Technical Assistance: The remaining $2.5 million is available for technical assistance for local water projects in which the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) provides selected contractors to support the application process. NOTE: This option for technical assistance is not yet available. Information will be provided on this webpage as it becomes available.
For a list of potential federal grant opportunities, visit the Water Funding Opportunity Navigator.
Please note: Some federal grant applicants have reported times of up to 2-3 months to complete registration with the federal SAM.gov website. A SAM account and associated Unique Entity ID (UEI) are required to receive ARPA funding. Additionally, your SAM account must be set to Public to allow CWCB to confirm that your agency is eligible to receive federal funds. If your organization does not currently have a SAM account, consider beginning the registration process as soon as possible.
More Information
- Governmental entities – municipalities, districts, enterprises, counties, and State of Colorado agencies. Covered Entities as defined in Section 37-60-126, C.R.S., are eligible if the applicant has adopted an approved water conservation plan.
- Private entities - mutual ditch companies, non-profit corporations, and partnerships.
Funding can be used for:
- Project development - site assessments, data research and collection necessary for project design, coordination with stakeholders, permitting, design assistance, cost estimating, securing matching funds for the project, and other technical work required to develop an application for federal IIJA funding
- Grant writing - researching federal grant opportunities, outreach to funding programs prior to submitting an application, review of Federal guidelines and application requirements, and development of the application and required documents, including letters of support.
Prior to submitting an application, interested parties must contact Michael Regan (michael.regan@state.co.us) with CWCB to discuss potential projects.
Application forms are available on the CWCB Portal.
If you have not applied for a CWCB grant in the past, please start with CWCB Portal Registration. *Please note that confirmation of registration may take 1-2 days and you will receive an email once your registration is approved.
All grant applications must include a statement of work, budget, project schedule, and must identify the relevant federal grants the grantee is likely to apply for.
Local Capacity and Technical Assistance Grants - Budget & Schedule Template
Local Capacity and Technical Assistance Grants - Statement of Work Template
For further details and criteria, review the Grant Guidelines.
Questions? View our Portal application How To Video.
Point of Contact
Michael Regan
(303) 866-3441 x3214