Water-Related Funding
Opportunities
Every year, the Colorado Water Center and partner organizations provide funding to catalyze innovative water research, education, and engagement.
Colorado Water Center CSU grant program
Funding water research, extension, and education projects through our land-grant mission. This grant program invests in transdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships that ultimately lead to a more holistic understanding of water resource issues, and to integrate translation of this understanding into the water resource profession, as well as educate the future water workforce.
CWCB water research seed grants
The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) Seed Research Program was established in 2012 to support the development of water resources research, outreach, and education programs that aid the CWCB in fulfilling its mission. The Seed Research program is open to Faculty, Extension personnel, and Researchers at any institution of higher education in Colorado that has the capacity to support research, information dissemination, and graduate training programs that can address Colorado’s most pressing water resource challenges.
CWCB Water Research Seed Grants FY26 Awardees
| Proposal Title | Amount Requested | Applicant |
|---|---|---|
| Examination of Price Elasticity of Residential Water In Colorado | $50,000 | Aditi Bhaskar (CU Boulder) |
| Enhancing Colorado’s Instream Flow Program: A Comparative Analysis of State Methodologies, Hydrological Techniques, and Policy Innovations | $50,000 | Jacob Petersen-Perlman (CSU) |
| Comparing methods to quantify instream flows to riparian groundwater-dependent ecosystems in mountain valleys | $44,568 | Michael Ronayne (CSU) |
| Nature-Based Solutions for Optimizing Freshening Flow Rates in Small Ponds and Reservoirs | $50,000 | Chien-Yung Tseng (CSU) |
USGS graduate student research grants
The USGS 104b program, funded by US Geological Survey/National Institutes for Water Resources (USGS/NIWR), encourages and supports graduate student research in disciplines relevant to water resources issues and assists Colorado institutions of higher education in developing student research expertise and capabilities. It is intended to help students initiate research projects or to supplement existing student projects in water resources research.
- 2026 USGS 104b graduate student research RFP (submission deadline: 5:00pm, March 31, 2026)
