As Congress starts work on the next government funding bills, President Trump is proposing eliminating a key water conservation program that’s sent more than $3.2 billion to Western states since 2010.
The program, known as WaterSMART and run by the Bureau of Reclamation, provides federal dollars to local governments and organizations in the West to address worsening drought and water scarcity.
WaterSMART grants, combined with state and local dollars, have funded more than 2,350 projects addressing water conservation, habitat restoration, water recycling, drought preparedness and more. The program has funded 118 projects in Colorado since 2010, according to a federal dashboard.
Those projects include restoring habitat near the headwaters of Boulder Creek, improving irrigation ditches on the Western Slope and adding fish passages along the Poudre River.
“It’s become a pretty important funding source for more ecologically-focused projects and multi-benefit projects,” said Hannah Holm, an associate director for policy at the water conservation group American Rivers, which has received WaterSMART funding.
“I just can’t really imagine how we would get a lot of important projects in Colorado, that are related to water infrastructure, done without that funding source,” she said.
In May, President Trump released a federal budget proposal for the 2026 fiscal year, which is a wishlist of cuts and funding boosts sought by the administration, and is separate from the recently passed “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Actual cuts and agency budgets must still be approved by Congress before the start of the next fiscal year, on October 1
The budget proposal strips the Bureau of Reclamation of around $600 million from its current budget of around $1.86 billion, according to an analysis by the Association of California Water Agencies, a policy and trade group. The proposal zeroes out funding for WaterSmart, as well as other water programs at BOR.
The BOR did not answer questions about how the proposed cuts would affect Western water conservation or what grant programs might replace WaterSMART if it loses funding.
A BOR spokesperson directed budget questions to the White House Office of Management and Budget.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill” did not affect WaterSMART funding, according to Sarah Porterfield, a water policy associate at the river and stream conservation group Trout Unlimited.
Trout Unlimited is working on a restoration project on the San Juan River in Pagosa Springs, which will improve recreation and fisheries on a 2.5-mile stretch of the river, partly funded by the program.
“This is a really important funding source for those kinds of multi-benefit projects across the West,” she said.
In June, 103 groups, including the city of Thornton, the Colorado Wildlife Federation, Trout Unlimited and American Rivers, submitted a letter urging congressional representatives to preserve the program’s funding.
“These federal funds are also crucial in addressing the immense need for water infrastructure investments in the West, which exceeds the capacity of states and local governments to finance on their own,” they wrote.
“As drought conditions continue to intensify, sustained, annual funding for these activities is more important than ever,” the letter read.
| This story is part of a collection tracking the impacts of President Donald Trump’s second administration on the lives of everyday Coloradans. Since taking office, Trump has overhauled nearly every aspect of the federal government; journalists from CPR News, KRCC and Denverite are staying on top of what that means for you. Read more here. |
