Locate funding resources government-wide by searching the Catalog for Federal Domestic Assistance using the phrase "water quality" or other term. Also see the "Agriculture," "Environmental Quality," "Natural Resources" and other categories at Grants.gov.

U.S. Department of Interior (DOI)

Bureau of Reclamation

• Water Treatment Engineering and Research Group (WaTER) Funding Information
  Funding is on a cost-sharing basis through the Water Desalinization Research-Development Program, the Title XVI Water Reuse Program and the Native American Affairs Program.

Fish & Wildlife Service

• Division of Federal Assistance - a comprehensive list of Federal funding from the Fish & Wildlife Service.
• Partners for Fish and Wildlife offers technical and financial assistance to private (non-federal) landowners to voluntarily restore wetlands and other fish and wildlife habitats on their land.
• North American Wetlands Conservation Act has provisions for grants and other funding opportunities.
• National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program allows the Fish & Wildlife Service to assist states in acquiring, restoring, and enhancing wetlands of coastal states and the trust territories.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

• U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) offers an extensive array of water resources information along with information on contracts and grants.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

• Coastal Zone Enhancement Program provides incentives for states and territories to make changes in water-related areas of national significance.
• NOAA Business and Grant Opportunities includes grants, funding announcements, Sea Grant Programs, Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) resources, and technology transfer.
• NOAA Coastal Services Center provides information through its Funding Opportunities and Other Funding Opportunities resources.
• NOAA Grants Home Page provides information on currently available funding opportunities and allows current grantees to access the Financial Assistance Disbursement System (FADS) or the GRANTS System.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• American Indian Environmental Office provides funding to tribal governments for environmental remediation in a variety of media, including water.
• Catalog of Federal Funding Sources for Watershed Protection lists governmental and nongovernmental funding sources for watershed protection. Indexed by title of source, agency or department, and enabling statute.
• Directory of Grants Programs Administered by EPA is a compendium of all EPA grant programs extracted from the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog (FDAC).
• Environmental Finance Center, sponsored by the Maryland Sea Grant Program, helps local communities to locate alternative funding resources, serves as a clearinghouse of funding information, and provides training opportunities.
• Environmental Finance Program brings together information from across the agency to facilitate the creation of partnerships with state and local governments and the private sector to fund environmental needs and research. The Guidebook of Financial Tools: Paying for Sustainable Environmental Systems is a directory of means to fund environmental protection and restoration activities. Guidebook revised in April 1999.
• EPA's Office of Environmental Justice Grants links to OEJ Small Grants information.
• An EPA Grants and Fellowship Information resource is available from the Business Opportunities topic area. Links to regional funding sources can be found here.
• EPA's Office of Wastewater Management provides financial assistance and information on clean water financing.
• National Center for Environmental Research and Quality Assurance describes programs funded under the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Program.
• EPA offers a Grant-Writing Tutorial. The online tutorial, jointly produced by Purdue University, provides hand-on practice in developing, writing, producing successful grant proposals.
• The EPA Nonpoint Source Program maintains the resource, Funding Opportunities, with links to EPA and outside funding sources. The document, Nonpoint Source Program and Grants Guidance for Fiscal Year 1997 and Future Years (May 1996), is also available.
• The Targeted Watershed Grants Program "is designed to encourage successful community-based approaches and management techniques to protect and restore the nation's waters."
• EPA Tribal Assistance Programs are provided through the Clean Water Indian Program.
• Office of Wetlands, Oceans & Watersheds has a comprehensive list of funding for watersheds.
• Wetlands Development Grants are available for State, Local and Tribal governments. A database of funded projects is also available.

Federal Highway Administration (FHA)

• The Federal Highway Administration's Transportation Environmental Research Program sponsors research in colleges and universities on water quality, ecosystem/watershed planning and wetlands.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES)

• CSREES Funding Opportunities is a comprehensive list of funding opportunites in all areas, including water quality.
• National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program (NRICGP) NRI funds research on key problems of national and regional importance in biological, environmental, physical, and social sciences relevant to agriculture, food, and the environment on a peer-reviewed, competitive basis.
• Information on the USDA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is made available from this site. Program solicitiations usually open in June.

• Building Better Rural Places: Federal Programs for Sustainable Agriculture, Forestry, Conservation and Community Development includes descriptions and contact information for 80 federal programs offering support and assistance to farmers and others.
• Federal Funding Sources for Rural Areas is a searchable database developed by National Agricultural Library Rural Information Center (RIC) and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.

• Natural resource conversation programs "...provide environmental, societal, financial, and technical benefits that include both on-site benefits and off-site benefits." Links to information for on-farm financial assistance are maintained on the NRCS Web page, Conservation Programs. Some examples include:
  • Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) "provides cost share assistance to agricultural producers to voluntarily address issues such as water management, water quality, and erosion control by incorporating conservation into their farming operations."
  • Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) "is a voluntary program intended to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies while leveraging Federal investment in environmental enhancement and protection, in conjunction with agricultural production."
  • Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) encourages farmers to convert highly erodible cropland or other environmentally sensitive acreage to vegetative cover, filterstrips, or riparian buffers. Farmers receive an annual rental payment for their participation. CRP is administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA).
  • Conservation Security Program (CSP) "is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to promote the conservation and improvement of soil, water, air, energy, plant and animal life, and other conservation purposes on Tribal and private working lands."
  • Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) "undertakes emergency measures, including the purchase of flood plain easements, for runoff retardation and soil erosion prevention to safeguard lives and property from floods, drought, and the products of erosion on any watershed whenever fire, flood or any other natural occurrence is causing or has caused a sudden impairment of the watershed."
  • Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides technical, educational, and financial assistance for natural resource conservation in an environmentally beneficial and cost-effective manner.
  • Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) "provides matching funds to help purchase development rights to keep productive farm and ranchland in agricultural uses."
  • Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) "is a voluntary program offering landowners the opportunity to protect, restore, and enhance grasslands on their property."
  • Rural Abandoned Mine Program (RAMP) provides technical and financial assistance to land users who voluntarily enter into 5- to 10-year contracts for reclamation of abandoned coal-mined lands and waters.
  • Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) provides "financial incentives to enhance wetlands in exchange for retiring marginal agricultural land."
  • Wildlife Habitiat Incentives Program (WHIP) assists private land owners to develop and implement a wildlife habitat plan and provides funding to carry out that plan.

• Water and Enviornmental Programs provide loans and grants for water waste disposal, solid waste management, training and technical assistance.

Other Sources

• American Water Works Association Research Foundation funds applied research needed by the drinking water community.
• The Committee for the National Institute for the Environment (CNIE) has developed a list of Foundations Providing Grants for Environmental Purposes. This list includes primarily U.S. grantmaking foundations. Also find CNIE's Grants Information on the World Wide Web.
• Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Department (VA) funds local governments and planning districts, on a competitive grants program basis, for projects intended to provide for local Bay Act Program development and implementation.
• Collaboration Resources for Funding "is a searchable database of funding sources from the Red Lodge Clearinghouse ...an organization designed to support, nurture and connect collaborative natural resource groups."
• Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) "created the North American Fund for Environmental Cooperation (NAFEC) in 1995 as a means to fund community-based projects in Canada, Mexico and the United States that promote the goals and objectives of the CEC."
• The National Sea Grant Office provides information on funding opportunities which are offered primarily through its 30 state sea grant programs.
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) provides information on water-related funding sources. NFWF's grant programs include challenge grants designed to conserve fish, wildlife and plant resources. All grants require matching funds.
• National Science Foundation provides funding opportunities, grants, program information, and solicitations.
• Funding sources may be located through State Environmental Agencies. For example, Missouri's Department of Natural Resources maintins a resource, Assistance We Offer, through it's Outreach and Assistance Center.
• Funding sources may be located through State Environmental Agencies. For example, Missouri's Department of Natural Resources maintins a resource, Assistance We Offer, through it's Outreach and Assistance Center.
• Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) awards funding thorough a competitive program in a variety of areas.
• Water Quality: A Catalog of Related Federal Programs (RCED-96-173; June 19, 1996), a report from the General Accounting Office (GAO), lists and evaluates federal programs that assist states, municipalities, individuals, and other entities in protecting water and groundwater resources.