WaterSMART Progress Report Fact Sheet

On December 15, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the release of the 

WaterSMART Progress Report. Projects initiated from 2010-2016 under the Department of the 

Interior's WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow) program and 

other conservation activities are expected to result in savings of 1.14 million acre-feet of water 

per year upon completion, according to the report released today by that amount of water 

represents approximately the annual household use by 4.6 million people, which equals the 

current population of Phoenix and surrounding areas. 

The report and data visualization tool details progress made since 2010 to improve water 

conservation and help water-resource managers narrow the gap between water supply and 

demand. Through WaterSMART, Interior uses the best available science to improve water 

conservation and other water-saving strategies. 

Accomplishments under WaterSMART include:

● The Basin Study Program provides information to plan for future water needs. It 

includes basin studies and West-wide climate risk assessments and projects funded under 

landscape conservation cooperatives, which are partnerships of governmental and 

nongovernmental entities that work together on a region wide basis. Since establishment 

of this program in 2009, Reclamation has started 25 basin studies and completed 15 of 

them. 

● The Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program provides funding for entities to 

turn unusable water sources into new sources that are less vulnerable to drought and 

climate change. Reclamation provides funding for congressionally authorized projects, 

feasibility studies and research studies. Since 2009, funding has been provided for more 

than 75 authorized projects, research studies and feasibility studies. Approximately $667 

million in federal funding has now been awarded to implement more than $3.3 billion in 

water reuse improvements.

● WaterSMART grants provide cost-shared funding on a competitive basis to nonfederal 

partners in the implementation of water and energy conservation and efficiency projects. 

Since 2010, Reclamation has allocated more than $135 million in competitively awarded 

grants to implement more than $395 million in water management improvements through 

243 projects in 15 western states. This funding has been provided to nonfederal partners 

including tribes, water districts and municipalities. The program will expand in 2017 and 

will include two new grant opportunities, grants for water marketing activities and smallscale water efficiency projects.

● Reclamation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation 

Service are coordinating efforts on water sustainability. WaterSMART grant funding 

criteria was expanded in 2012 and now not only makes water delivery improvements, but 

also encourages future on-farm improvements. NRCS then reviews the list of projects 

and identifies funding opportunities for agricultural producers to carry out 

complementary on-farm irrigation improvements.

● In 2015, Reclamation launched the Drought Response Program that provides assistance 

for drought contingency planning, on-the-ground projects that build long-term resiliency 
to drought, and emergency response actions. Since establishment of the program, 

Reclamation has provided more than $10 million in competitively awarded funding for 

drought planning and resiliency across 13 states. The Drought Response Program also 

supports the goals of the President's 2016 Memorandum and Federal Action Plan on 

Building National Capabilities for Long-Term Drought Resilience. Reclamation is also 

contributing to the National Drought Resilience Partnership through the Drought 

Response Program and other WaterSMART activities.

● The Cooperative Watershed Management Program provides a platform for locally led 

and community-based water resource management involving diverse stakeholders. The 

program provides funding to watershed groups to collaborate on local solutions that 

address their water management needs. Since 2012, Reclamation has awarded $2.4 

million to establish or further develop 30 watershed groups in nine states. The program 

will expand in 2017 providing funding for watershed management groups to implement 

on-the-ground watershed management projects.

● In 2016, the USGS realigned all water availability and use outreach research, including 

its National Water Census, within a new program, the Water Availability and Use 

Science Program. The improved National Water Census provides a more accurate 

understanding of the nation's water resources and improves water availability forecasting 

for current and future economic benefits, energy productions and environmental uses. 

Integration of the census and other programs provides nationally consistent data sets that 

detail water use for the nation; show the status of and trends for precipitation, streamflow, 

groundwater and evapotranspiration; improve the current understanding of flow 

requirements for ecological purposes; and assess water resource conditions in selected 

river basins.

Interior is implementing the WaterSMART initiative through its Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. 

Geological Survey. Reclamation is the primary water management agency at Interior and is 

focused on collaboratively improving water conservation and helping water and resource 

managers. USGS is the science agency at Interior and is working to integrate existing research on 

various aspects of water availability and use, identify key gaps in scientific capacity and invest in 

the development of new, cutting-edge hydrologic tools and assessments.

To view the report and data visualization tool, please visit https://www.usbr.gov/WaterSMART.

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