Assistance Listing 15.981

Water Use and Data Research

Department of the Interior · Us Geological Survey

Assistance Listing 15.981, “Water Use and Data Research,” is a federal program administered by Department of the Interior. It provides grant assistance. GrantsJunction currently tracks 0 open, 0 forecasted and 1 closed opportunities under this listing. The agency reported $201K in obligations for fiscal year 2025. Since October 1, 2023, USAspending.gov shows 15 grant awards under this listing; the largest recipient was COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY.

Program objective

External Funding from this program is no longer available. In pervious years, when external funding from this program was active, the goal as to support State water resource agencies in developing water use and availability datasets that are integrated with each appropriate dataset developed or maintained by the USGS or that integrate any water use or water availability dataset of the State water resource agency into each appropriate dataset developed or maintained by the USGS. The Water Use Data and Research program will allow State Water Resource agencies to improve the collection and reporting frequency of water use categories, including the inclusion of categories that have been discontinued in the past due to limited resources. Data collection, and improvement efforts, as well as research conducted will complement priorities and investigations carried by Federal, State, and Local Governments, and by private industry in water availability assessments for human and ecological uses.

As published in the SAM.gov Assistance Listing.

Current opportunities under 15.981

No open or forecasted opportunities are currently posted under this listing. Programs often post notices on an annual cycle — see recently closed opportunities below for timing.

Eligible applicants (program level)

State

Proposals will be accepted from state agencies that collect and maintain water use data and databases. Various elements of the data that are required for the Water Use Data and Research (WUDR) program are often available from different agencies within a state; however only one agency is eligible to submit a proposal for the program. We ask that State agencies collaborate in this instance, and States may submit a single proposal that covers the work of multiple state agencies. Coordination of agencies within a state is strongly encouraged to avoid proposals that overlap.

Intended beneficiaries: State.

Program-level eligibility from SAM.gov. Each funding notice sets its own requirements.

Reported obligations by fiscal year

Historical data · not a prediction

FY24

$210K

FY25

$201K

FY26

— est.

Range and average of financial assistance (from the listing): Past Fiscal Year (2024): In FY2024, financial assistance ranged from $119,687 to $120,788, with an average of $120,237. Current Fiscal Year (2025): In FY2025, financial assistance was $0. Budget Fiscal Year (2026):In FY2026, financial assistance is expected to be $0.

Source: SAM.gov Assistance Listing 15.981. Hatched bars are agency estimates. These totals do not indicate approval rates.

Who gets funded

Historical data · not a prediction

Since October 1, 2023, USAspending.gov shows 15 grant or cooperative agreement awards with funding actions under ALN 15.981, and prime recipients reported 1 sub-award to other organizations.

Grant obligations by fiscal year

FY22

$104K

FY23

$301K

FY24

$423K

FY25

$104K

FY26

$456K

Obligations recorded in USAspending.gov; FY26 may be partial. Can differ from the agency-reported totals above.

Largest recipients since October 1, 2023

Where recipients are located

Colorado$565K
U.S. Virgin Islands$121K
West Virginia$120K

Most recent awards

WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION · WVWEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONTITLEWEST VIRGINIA WATER USE DATA PROJECT 2024LONG TITLEQUALITY ASSURANCE ENHANCEMENT OF WEST VIRGINIA WATER USE DATA TO IMPROVE SITE SPECIFIC INVENTORY WATERUSE CATEGORIES AND DATA TRANSFERABILITYPROJECT PERIOD 9 30 2024 THROUGH 9 29 2026THE WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION WVDEP ENFORCES STATE AND FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS $120KStarts Sep 30, 2024 · Award ↗
STATE OF DELAWARE, DNREC · DETITLE: DELAWARE DNREC 2023 WUDR PROJECTLONG TITLE: IMPROVING QUALITY, ACCURACY, AND ACCESSIBILITY OF ALLOCATED WATER WITHDRAWALS RECORDS IN DELAWARE TO SUPPORT THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL, DIVISION OF WATER, RESOURCE PROTECTION SECTION.PROJECT PERIOD 9 1 2023 THROUGH 8 31 2025THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL (DNREC) I$125KStarts Sep 1, 2023 · Award ↗
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES · GAGEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DIVISION EPD DATA QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS TO NON FARM SURFACE WATER AND GROUNDWATER PROGRAM USAGE DATABASE TO SUPPORT GEORGIA EPD WUDR PROJECTPROJECT PERIOD 9 30 2022 THROUGH 9 29 2024 THE GEORGIA ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DIVISION EPD , PART OF THE GEORGIA DEPARTMENT NATURAL RESOURCES, IS A CURRENT PROVIDER OF WATER USE INFORMATION TO $125KStarts Sep 30, 2022 · Award ↗
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITYCOOPERATIVE AGREEMENT FOR R&D - PAPER-BASED COLORIMETRIC WATER QUALITY SENSORS$981KStarts Sep 30, 2021 · Award ↗
DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES OREGON · OROREGON 2021 WUDR PROJECT FOR DEVELOPING IRRIGATION WATER USE AND EFFICIENCY ESTIMATES FOR THE STATE OF OREGON.$94.9KStarts Sep 30, 2021 · Award ↗
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES · GADATA QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS TO NON-FARM SURFACE WATER & GROUNDWATER PROGRAM USAGE DATABASE TO SUPPORT GEORGIA EPD WUDR PROJECT$125KStarts Sep 30, 2021 · Award ↗
NATURAL RESOURCES & CONSERVATION, MONTANA DEPT OF · MTMONTANA DNRC 2021 WUDR AGRICULTURAL MAPPING PROJECT$94.7KStarts Sep 1, 2021 · Award ↗
NORTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES · NDIMPROVING DATA AND UNDERSTANDING OF RURAL WATER SUPPLIERS IN NORTH DAKOTA TO SUPPORT THE NORTH DAKOTA STATE WATER COMMISSION$67.2KStarts Sep 1, 2021 · Award ↗
ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF · ALALABAMA EWATER APPLICATION UPGRADE - PHASE 2$114KStarts Sep 1, 2021 · Award ↗
ARKANSAS NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION · ARARKANSAS WATER USE DATABASE ENTRY, STORAGE, AND RETRIEVAL IMPROVEMENTS PHASE 2 FY2020$125KStarts Sep 30, 2020 · Award ↗

Pass-through funding: largest sub-awards

Prime recipients (often state agencies, universities or national organizations) passed funding to these organizations. If your organization can't apply directly, a prime recipient may run its own sub-grant competition.

BURST DIAGNOSTICS INCfrom COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY$65K · Mar 11, 2026

Source: USAspending.gov (grants and cooperative agreements, award types 02–05), refreshed weekly; last checked Oct 9, 2026. Names and amounts are as reported by agencies and prime recipients. Past recipients show where money went — not who is eligible or how likely an application is to succeed.

Recently closed under 15.981

Closed opportunities under 15.981
Opportunity	Status	Award range	Closes	ALN
USGS Water Use Data and Research Program Announcement for Fiscal Year 2021Geological Survey	Closed	$24K – $125K	May 13, 2021	15.981

Frequently asked questions

What is ALN 15.981?

15.981 is the Assistance Listing Number for “Water Use and Data Research.” Assistance Listing Numbers (formerly CFDA numbers) identify federal assistance programs; individual grant opportunities reference the listing they are funded under.

Who can apply under ALN 15.981?

The SAM.gov listing names these applicant types: State. Each funding notice under the program sets its own eligibility, so check the specific opportunity.

How much funding does 15.981 provide?

The agency reported $200,914 in obligations for FY2025 in the SAM.gov Assistance Listing. These are program-wide totals reported by the agency, not a prediction of future awards.

Who has received funding under ALN 15.981?

Since October 1, 2023, USAspending.gov records 15 grant awards under 15.981. The largest recipients by obligations were COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY ($765K), DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING & NATURAL RESOURCES ($121K), WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ($120K), AGRICULTURE, CONSERVATION & FORESTRY, MAINE DEPARTMENT OF (—) and 1 more. Prime recipients also reported 1 sub-awards to other organizations. Past recipients do not indicate eligibility or chances of approval.