Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program FY 2026

Key facts

Summary from the notice

Who can apply

The official notice lists these applicant types as eligible:

• Public and Indian housing authorities
• Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (other than colleges)
• Independent school districts
• Federally recognized tribal governments
• Public and state colleges and universities
• Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than colleges)
• Small businesses
• Other Native American tribal organizations
• State governments
• County governments
• City or township governments
• Others named in the notice (see the eligibility text)
• Individuals
• For-profit organizations other than small businesses
• Special district governments
• Private colleges and universities

Eligibility details from the notice

The program office will review all proposed projects to determine whether the application is an eligible activity under the NOFO and can proceed to merit review evaluation. Eligible projects must include the deployment of aerial LiDAR snow surveys to support water supply forecasting. Aerial LiDAR snow survey flights must represent at least 80% of the request for federal funding. Projects should be scoped to quantify benefits to water supply forecasts and water management, as compared to status quo operational snow monitoring and forecasting technologies. Projects not eligible for funding under this NOFO include, but are not limited to: Projects deploying snow monitoring technologies outside of the Reclamation 17-State domain (AZ, CA, CO, ID, KS, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WY) Projects unrelated to snow monitoring or the use of snow data in water supply forecasts Projects focused on improving water supply forecasts outside of the Reclamation 17-State domain (AZ, CA, CO, ID, KS, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WY)Applicants can only request funding for work that is planned through September 2028.

Registrations you will likely need

Most applications submitted through Grants.gov need the following. Registration can take several weeks, so start early. The notice lists the exact requirements.

• SAM.gov registration for your organization, which also gives you a Unique Entity ID (UEI). Registration is free.
• A Login.gov account, which Grants.gov uses for sign-in.
• A Grants.gov applicant registration linked to your organization's UEI.

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