BWSR Accepting Applications for Water Storage Grants

March 14, 2023

St. Paul, Minn. – The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) is now accepting applications for water storage grants to help make landscapes more resilient to severe weather events. Eligible applicants include soil and water conservation districts, watershed districts, counties, watershed management organizations, and tribal governments with a state-approved, locally adopted water management plan.

The state is experiencing more frequent and intense rainfall events, resulting in negative impacts to agriculture and infrastructure, significant erosion along riverbanks, and declining water quality. In its second year as a pilot program, the Water Quality and Storage Grant Program has approximately $1 million available for projects that will reduce flood impacts, improve water quality, and mitigate climate change. Applicants must show that their project will result in a reduction of peak flow rate and/or volume.

“The water storage projects funded through this program protect infrastructure, improve water quality, and help communities and farmers manage the impacts of increasingly heavy rainfalls,” BWSR Executive Director John Jaschke said.

Applications will be accepted through 4:30 p.m. on May 4. Applications must be submitted through eLINK, BWSR’s grants management system. More information on how to apply can be found here.

Learn more about the state’s climate work by visiting climate.state.mn.us