Bureau of Reclamation: DWPR Grant for Desalination and Water Purification Research and Development

Foreign entities, other than United States-Mexico binational research foundations and inter-university research programs established by the two countries, are not eligible for funding under the authorizing legislation for this program.

Federal agencies are not eligible to apply.

Through this program, Reclamation is forming partnerships with private industry, universities, water utilities, and others to address a broad range of desalting and water purification needs. The intent of the program is to augment the supply of usable water in the United States.

This will be accomplished by reducing the costs, improving operation and reliability, and developing innovations in desalination and water purification technologies.

The Water Desalination Act of 1996 defines the following important terms: (1) Desalination or desalting means “the use of any process or technique for the removal and, when feasible, adaptation to beneficial use, of organic and inorganic … compounds from saline or biologically impaired waters, by itself or in conjunction with other processes” and (2) Saline water means “sea water, brackish water, and other mineralized or chemically impaired water.”