Assistance Listing 15.560
Secure Water Act – Research Agreements
Bureau of Reclamation · Department of the Interior
The verdict for a small nonprofit
A realistic target for an established nonprofit. 58% of awards go to first-time applicants and nonprofits win 21%.
Based on 69 new awards in FY2023–25. Organizations under $1M in revenue won 0% of the awards that went to nonprofits. The median award is $399,149. Expect about 62 days between posting and deadline.
- First-time winners
- 58%
- of new awards, last 3 FYs
- Nonprofit share
- 21%
- 42% higher ed · 15% gov't
- Under-$1M orgs
- 0%
- of nonprofit awards
- Median award
- $399K
- $226K – $650K middle half
- New awards, FY2025
- 17
- $22M committed to them
- Usually posts
- May
- annual · 62-day window
Open right now under this program
Nothing open · from Grants.gov, checked every 10 minutes
Who won in FY2025
Largest recipients by dollars. From USAspending.
| Recipient | Type | State | Awards | Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Triangle Institute | Nonprofit | NC | 6 | $2,113,882 |
| Nevada System of Higher Education | Higher ed | NV | 6 | $1,798,620 |
| The Regents of the University of Colorado | Higher ed | CO | 6 | $1,633,505 |
| University Corporation for Atmospheric Research | Nonprofit | CO | 5 | $1,748,521 |
| Utah State University | Higher ed | UT | 4 | $1,642,654 |
| Southern Nevada Water Authority | Government | NV | 3 | $2,837,322 |
| Arizona State University | Higher ed | AZ | 3 | $664,637 |
| Regents of the University of Idaho | Higher ed | ID | 3 | $658,066 |
| Orange County Water District | Government | CA | 3 | $513,756 |
| The Regents of the University of California | Higher ed | CA | 2 | $1,495,935 |
New awards by fiscal year
Awards first made in each fiscal year; dollars are the total committed to that year's new awards over their life.
| FY | New awards | Committed | Median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | $4.4M | $150K | $136K – $220K |
| 2022 | 24 | $11M | $184K | $129K – $215K |
| 2023 | 23 | $11M | $200K | $140K – $410K |
| 2024 | 29 | $18M | $300K | $212K – $645K |
| 2025 | 17 | $22M | $399K | $226K – $650K |
Past rounds
Every announcement under this listing that Grants.gov still lists. Use it to plan next year.
| Posted | Closed | Window | Announcement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05-22 | 2024-07-24 | 63 d | R24AS00324 · Desalination and Water Purification Research Program Pitch to Pilot FY 24 |
| 2023-04-19 | 2023-06-20 | 62 d | R23AS00282 · Desalination and Water Purification Research Program Pitch to Pilot FY 23 |
| 2022-05-26 | 2022-07-12 | 47 d | R22AS00316 · Desalination and Water Purification Research Program Pitch to Pilot for Fiscal Year 2022 |
| 2021-04-15 | 2021-06-03 | 49 d | R21AS00424 · Desalination and Water Purification Research Program Pitch to Pilot |
| 2020-07-30 | 2020-08-14 | 15 d | BOR-DO-20-N008 · Notice of Intent to Award |
| 2020-06-02 | 2020-06-16 | 14 d | BOR-DO-20-N007 · Cyanophage treatment development for mitigating freshwater Harmful Algal Blooms caused by Cyanobacteria |
| 2020-05-22 | 2020-06-05 | 14 d | BOR-DO-20-N005 · Evaluating Contaminates of Emerging Concern’s Fate in Potable Reuse Membrane Treatment |
| 2020-05-05 | 2020-05-19 | 14 d | BOR-DO-20-N006 · Concentrate Minimization—Inline Static Mixer/Crystallizers |
| 2020-05-04 | 2020-06-17 | 44 d | BOR-DO-20-F014 · Desalination and Water Purification Research Program Pitch to Pilot for Fiscal Year 2020 |
| 2020-04-16 | 2020-04-29 | 13 d | BOR-CGB-20-N004 · Study the Efficacy of UV Light to Treat Aquatic Vegetation in an Unlined Canal |
| 2019-12-27 | 2020-01-10 | 14 d | BOR-DO-20-N003 · AMTA/Reclamation Fellowships |
| 2019-11-27 | 2019-12-11 | 14 d | BOR-DO-20-N002 · Ephemeral Tributary Sediment Transport Measurement |
| 2019-09-09 | 2019-09-22 | 13 d | BOR-UC-19-N010 · The Next Generation of Evaporation Pans Agreement R17AC00074 Modification 004 and 005 |
| 2019-08-23 | 2019-09-05 | 13 d | BOR-UC-19-N005 · Salt Basin Assessment of Water Resources and Groundwater Withdrawal |
| 2019-07-24 | 2019-08-01 | 8 d | BOR-LC-19-N023 · Notice of Intent to Award to University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center |
| 2019-07-12 | 2019-07-27 | 15 d | BOR-LC-19-N011 · Notice of Intent to Award to Colorado School of Mines |
| 2019-07-01 | 2019-07-15 | 14 d | BOR-LC-19-N016 · Notice of Intent to Award to RTI International |
| 2019-06-21 | 2019-07-05 | 14 d | BOR-LC-19-N015 · Notice of Intent to Award to California Department of Water Resources |
| 2019-06-20 | 2019-07-04 | 14 d | BOR-LC-19-N017 · Notice of Intent to Award to University of Colorado |
| 2019-06-18 | 2019-07-02 | 14 d | BOR-LC-19-N010 · Notice of Intent to Award to Arizona State University |
| 2019-06-18 | 2019-06-27 | 9 d | BOR-DO-19-N020 · Eradication of Invasive Quagga and Zebra Mussels Using Engineered Disseminated Neoplasia |
| 2019-06-12 | 2019-06-26 | 14 d | BOR-GP-19-N005 · Developing a Collaborative Environment for Sharing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) |
| 2019-05-17 | 2019-05-31 | 14 d | BOR-DO-19-N019 · Research Support for Science Communications and Water Resource Management Toolbox |
| 2019-04-30 | 2019-06-25 | 56 d | BOR-DO-19-F017 · Desalination and Water Purification Research Program Pitch to Pilot for Fiscal Year 2019 |
| 2018-12-20 | 2019-01-30 | 41 d | BOR-PN-19-N003 · Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Management on the South Fork Snake River |
| 2018-09-04 | 2018-09-18 | 14 d | BOR-LC-18-N015 · Notice of Intent to Award to The University of Arizona |
| 2018-08-24 | 2018-09-07 | 14 d | BOR-DO-18-N016 · Scaling-resistant RO/NF membrane for concentrate minimization |
| 2018-08-07 | 2018-08-21 | 14 d | BOR-LC-18-N013 · Notice of Intent to Award to Northern Arizona University |
| 2018-08-06 | 2018-08-20 | 14 d | BOR-LC-18-NOI11 · Notice of Intent to Award to University of Colorado Boulder |
| 2018-07-31 | 2018-08-14 | 14 d | BOR-PN-18-N032 · Center Advanced Decision Support for Water and Environmental Systems |
| 2018-07-31 | 2018-08-13 | 13 d | BOR-MP-18-N028 · ULTRA LOW COST THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM USING REVERSE OSMOSIS CONCENTRATE |
| 2018-07-30 | 2018-08-13 | 14 d | BOR-PN-18-N0021 · Correcting streamflow biases in watershed hydrology simulations |
| 2018-07-26 | 2018-08-09 | 14 d | BOR-LC-18-N004 · Notice of Intent to Award to Imperial Irrigation District |
| 2018-07-19 | 2018-08-02 | 14 d | BOR-LC-18-N005 · Notice of Intent to Award to Arizona State University |
| 2018-07-09 | 2018-07-17 | 8 d | BOR-PN-18-N025 · Riparian Vegetation Rectuitment Tool for Assessing River Management Flexibility |
| 2018-05-18 | 2018-05-31 | 13 d | BOR-DO-18-N014 · Notice of Intent to Award |
| 2017-12-12 | 2017-12-26 | 14 d | BOR-UC-18-N003 · Lake Powell Evaporation Study #2 |
| 2017-11-28 | 2018-02-27 | 91 d | BOR-DO-18-F004 · WaterSMART: Reservoir Operations Alternatives— Calculating Economic Effects |
| 2017-10-20 | 2017-11-03 | 14 d | BOR-UC-18-N002 · Lake Powell Evaporation Study |
| 2017-08-31 | 2017-09-14 | 14 d | BOR-DO-17-N033 · Research Support to Assist the Desert LCC Science Working Group and Critical Management Questions Teams |
Common questions
How hard is it to win a grant under 15.560?
A realistic target for an established nonprofit. 58% of awards go to first-time applicants and nonprofits win 21%. Based on 69 new awards in FY2023–25. Organizations under $1M in revenue won 0% of the awards that went to nonprofits. The median award is $399,149. Expect about 62 days between posting and deadline.
How much does Secure Water Act – Research Agreements award?
In FY2025 the median new award was $399K; the middle half ran from $226K to $650K. 17 new awards were made, with $22M committed to them.
When does 15.560 usually post?
Over the last several years, new rounds most often posted in May with about 62 days to apply. The most recent round posted May 22, 2024.
Who runs this program?
Department of the Interior (Bureau of Reclamation). Assistance Listing 15.560 on SAM.gov describes the authorizing statute and standard terms.
Sources: USAspending FY2021–25 award archive (2026-10-06); Grants.gov Search2 (fetched 2026-10-28); IRS EO BMF (fetched 2026-10-28). Award counts are new awards by fiscal year of first action. Shares are computed from award counts, not dollars; the under-$1M share covers the 71% of nonprofit awards that matched an IRS revenue record. Recipient type comes from the award record's business-type codes. Always confirm details in the official announcement.