Bureau of Reclamation Desalination and Water Purification Research Program

Reclamation's annual research and development competition for desalination and advanced water-treatment technology, funding laboratory-scale studies of up to 24 months and pilot-scale projects of up to 36 months. Awards run $100,000 to $800,000, with roughly 15 grants from about $5.7M per round, and cost share applies. Eligible applicants include small businesses, universities, nonprofits, tribes and state and local government; foreign and federal entities are excluded. The notice is reissued annually: the FY2026 round (R26AS00052) was posted 29 July 2026 and closed 29 September 2026, with the next round expected in mid-2027.