SAN JOSE—The Santa Clara Valley Water District has opened a grant application process to award up to $100,000 for testing new and innovative water conservation programs and technologies. The funding is part of the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program parcel tax, approved by voters in 2012.
The program provides funding to study and test new water conservation activities. This program encourages agencies and organizations to undertake research projects of new and innovative water conservation programs and technologies.
The primary goal is to identify promising water savings devices and strategies that can assist the water district in meeting its long-term goal of saving more than 32 billion gallons of water per year by 2030. Previous grant-funded projects include educational initiatives and research into new, replicable technologies that support water conservation.
Public, private, and nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply.
A pre-proposal workshop will be held at the water district at 5750 Almaden Expressway, Room B-108, in San José, from 10 a.m. to noon on Oct. 29, 2018. Proposals are due on Dec. 7, 2018.
The maximum grant amount is $50,000 and the minimum grant amount is $5,000. All projects must be completed by June 30, 2019.
This grant cycle is the fifth of several planned rounds of funding for conservation grants. During the 15-year life of the Safe, Clean Water Program, the water district expects to distribute nearly $35 million in grants, partnerships and rebate programs, under several different funding categories. Each year, one or more grant programs will have a new funding cycle.
Questions about this request for grant proposals should be directed to [email protected].
(Above: Employees at VMWare in Palo Alto promoting the WaterGenius Challenge. The WaterGenius Challenge was an initiative sponsored by BKi and the Santa Clara Valley Water District (via an A2 Grant) to test how to use the employer channel to encourage employees to undertake water conservation actions and projects.)