2021 Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Funding
Lake Oroville looking from the South Fork showing extremely low water under the Enterprise Bridge during a drought.
The Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Program is one of two Department of Water Resources’s (DWR’s) Drought Relief Grant Programs that offers financial assistance to address drought impacts through implementation of projects with multiple benefits:
- For communities, including Tribes, facing the loss or contamination of their water supplies due to the drought; and
- To address immediate drought impacts on human health and safety, and to protect fish and wildlife resources plus other public benefits, such as ecosystem improvements.
Funding:
Funding for the Program was authorized by the Legislature pursuant to the Budget Act of 2021 and its Trailer Bill, Assembly Bill 148; DWR was allocated $100 million for Urban Communities and $200 million for Multibenefit projects. The same Budget Act also authorized $200 million for the Small Community Drought Relief Program.
DWR is combining a portion of the Urban Community and the Multibenefit Drought Relief Funding into a $200 Million program. Projects funded under Multibenefit do not need to be in an urban community. Phase 1 awards were released on December 23, 2021. The full table of awards can be seen here.
DWR released the final Guidelines and Proposal Solicitation Package (GL/PSP) on October 28, 2021 to open the solicitation for approximately $190 million grant funds ($95 million from the Urban Community fund and $95 million from the Multibenefit Projects fund).
Amended Final 2021 Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Grant Program Guidelines and Proposal Solicitation Package
The (GL/PSP) establishes the procedures that the DWR will use to implement the Urban Community and Multibenefit Drought Relief Program (Program). The GL/PSP is a combined document that provides both general information about the Program and detailed information about the proposal solicitation. This document includes information on Program requirements, eligible applicant and project types, submittal and review of grant applications, and the grant funding award process. The GL/PSP were amended in February 2021 to allow for a Funding Area to select a new grantee for the Underrepresented Communities and Native American Tribes Set-Aside. This GL/PSP does not apply to the Small Community Drought Relief Program.
Or,
Hard copy application packages can be submitted to:
California Department of Water Resources
Division of Regional Assistance, Financial Assistance Branch
715 P Street, 6th Floor, Mailbox 15
Sacramento, CA 94236-0001
Attn: Linda Woolridge
For questions regarding the Program, please contact the program by email at urbandrought@water.ca.gov.
Drought Related Pages
The California Grants Portal – your one destination to find all state grant and loan opportunities provided on a first-come or competitive basis. Visit grants.ca.gov to find funding opportunities for you and your community.
The federal grants portal provides an efficient way to search for federal grants, a learning center, applicant resources, and other helpful information.
The California Financing Coordinating Committee (CFCC) combines the resources of State and Federal funding agencies to provide a one-stop shop for information on available grants, loans and bond financing for infrastructure projects. Since 1998, the CFCC has conducted free funding fairs each year to educate the public and offer potential customers the opportunity to meet with financial representatives from each agency and learn more about their currently available funding programs.