Contact: Mary Juhl; (651)-215-9008
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, municipalities, counties, Tribal Governments, and joint powers organizations.
The state is experiencing more frequent and intense rainfall events, resulting in negative impacts to agricultural land and infrastructure, significant erosion along riverbanks, and declining water quality. In response, BWSR established the Water Quality and Storage Grant Program, which supports storage practices statewide, with priority given to projects located in the Minnesota River and the Lower Mississippi River basins.
“Investing in water storage will help prepare communities across the state to handle the effects of increasingly intense storms,” said BWSR Executive Director John Jaschke. “These grants will target areas of the state with drainage infrastructure or topography that make flooding and erosion ongoing concerns.”
The Water Quality and Storage Grant Program currently has approximately $4.5 million available in grant funding. Up to $500,000 is available for modeling and conceptual design of storage practices. The remaining $4 million will be for final design and construction of storage practices.
Applications will be accepted through 4:30 p.m. on December 23, 2025. More information on how to apply can be found here.
Learn more about the Water Quality and Storage Grant Program.