Crafting a winning WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grant application for an AMI deployment

Key takeaways

A multicommodity utility needed extra funding for its advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) deployment but had limited time to complete the WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grant application.
The utility turned to E Source to perform all necessary research and collect the documentation required for a thorough, compelling, and on-time application.
With E Source’s help, the utility received a large grant that gave the water portion of the AMI project a needed jump start.

The challenge

While upgrading over 100,000 manual- and touch-read water meters to AMI, a West Coast multicommodity utility decided to apply for a WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grant to get more funding for the project.

Each year, the US Bureau of Reclamation awards WaterSMART Grants to utilities and other organizations to fund projects that promote sustainability (including addressing climate-change impacts, drought resiliency, and more) and aim to conserve and use resources more efficiently. The typical time frame from grant announcement to application submission is about 90 days. But the utility discovered the grant opportunity a little over a month before the deadline. The utility quickly realized it needed help putting together all the pieces and submitting the application on time.

The solution

The utility turned to the reliable experts at E Source for grant application support. E Source hit the ground running on behalf of the utility, collecting detailed information from a variety of sources and securing letters of recommendation from local stakeholders.

And to answer application questions related to how the project would impact agriculture and recreation, wildlife—including federally threatened or endangered species—wetlands and estuaries, and more, E Source researched how the utility’s water savings would affect the environment and communities in its territory.

E Source made sure the application was thorough, accurate, compelling, and submitted on time.

The results

Reclamation awarded the utility a $2 million WaterSMART Grant. Relying on E Source saved the utility time and resources. Staff could focus on their day-to-day priorities without the added stress of a looming deadline. And the extra funds enabled the utility to complete its AMI deployment quicker and more efficiently, giving the water portion of the project the jump start it needed.

E Source has secured more than $17 million in grant funding on behalf of utilities across the US. On top of grant reporting services, E Source can provide funding research, application development, and submission support. If awarded, WaterSMART grants offer up to $5 million in matching funds.