Idaho Water Resource Board seeking grant applications

The Idaho Water Resource Board is seeking applications for grants to be used for flood-damaged stream-channel repair, stream-channel improvement, flood-risk reduction or flood-prevention work in rivers and streams throughout Idaho. The 2019 Idaho Legislature set aside $800,000 for the program, to be administered by the board. The legislation included an emergency clause for immediate implementation.

Applicants may request funding for up to $200,000 per project. There will be a 50 percent match requirement for all grants awarded, officials said. Applications that include higher cost-share percentages will receive a higher ranking, and new applications from entities that have not been funded previously also will receive extra points, officials said.

The application period for flood-management grants is open now. Application deadline is June 21, 2019. Projects will be reviewed by the board’s Finance Committee, and final grant awards will be selected at the July 26 board meeting.

This is the second year of the board’s Flood-Management Grant Program. In 2018, the board approved 14 projects totaling approximately $1 million statewide. A number of wet water years in a row with deep snowpack have caused flooding damage throughout the state since the record-setting winter of 2017-18.

To be considered for grant funding, applicants must provide evidence of flood damage or evidence of conditions that create the risk of flooding in a stream channel, officials said. The following entities are eligible to receive grant funding: flood control districts, counties, municipalities, drainage districts, irrigation districts, canal companies, and other public entities.

To apply for a flood-management grant, go to http://www.idwr.idaho.gov/IWRB/programs/financial/ for details.