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 Enhanced Impacts Initiative
The Colorado Water Center invites concept papers for the Enhanced Impacts Initiative, an FY26 funding opportunity designed to increase the reach and relevance of water-related research, education, and engagement at Colorado State University. This initiative supports projects that generate tangible, applicable products for stakeholders and communities while strengthening CSU’s role as a leader in water innovation and engagement. Applications are open to CSU tenure-track, non-tenure track, and extension faculty engaged in water-related research, education, or Extension.
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) offers a variety of grants to water providers and other organizations statewide for water-related projects, studies, planning documents, awareness campaigns and other activities.
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 United States Geological Society (USGS), through the Water Resources Research Act Program, offers a variety of grants that support, coordinate, and facilitate research.
USGS 104b Graduate Student Research Grants FY26 Awardees
| Proposal Title | Amount Requested | Graduate Student | Advisor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deep Learning-Driven C-Band Snowmelt Mapping: Advancing Sustainable Water | $10,000 | Emma Tyrrell (CU Boulder) | Noah Molotch (CU Boulder) |
| Innovative Extreme Conditions Generation for METRIC Application Using UAS Imagery: Enhancing Evapotranspiration Estimation in Diverse Environments | $9,867.50 | Adwoa Serwaa Amankwaa (CSU) | Perry Cabot (CSU) |
| Understanding Historic and Future Groundwater Use for Irrigation in Colorado: A Data-driven Analysis of Weather, Economic, and Policy Influences | $10,000 | Fahim Hasan (CSU) | Ryan Smith (CSU) |
| Improving regression-based streamflow forecasting in the Upper Colorado River Basin using machine learning clustering | $10,000 | Olivia Staney (CU Boulder) | Eric Small (CU Boulder) |
| Addressing water scarcity through optical sensing for water reuse | $10,000 | Emma Wilder (CU Boulder) | Julie Korak (CU Boulder) |
| Reconstructing the Natural Streamflow of the Headwaters State | $10,000 | William Keenan (CSU) | Stephanie Kampf (CSU) |
| Large wood subsidies to floodplain soils | $9,963.40 | Lindsey Blehm (CSU) | Ellen Wohl (CSU) |