Desalination and Water Purification Research Program Pitch to Pilot for Fiscal Year 2020 | BOR DO 20 F014

Opportunity Information: Apply for BOR DO 20 F014

The Desalination and Water Purification Research (DWPR) Program Pitch to Pilot for Fiscal Year 2020 is a Bureau of Reclamation funding opportunity focused on moving promising water-treatment innovations out of the lab and into real-world pilot testing. The program is aimed at research that delivers broad public value, especially in areas where the private sector may be reluctant to invest because of high technical risk, long timelines, or uncertain returns. Reclamation frames this work as nationally significant, meaning the problems being tackled are large in scale and the benefits are expected to extend well beyond a single site or single organization. The overall purpose is to lower the cost, energy demand, and environmental footprint of treating impaired or otherwise unusable water supplies so they can be reliably used for identified beneficial purposes.

This FOA specifically targets "pitch to pilot" efforts, meaning the proposed work should be at a pilot scale rather than purely bench or laboratory scale. A key requirement is that the technology or process must be tested using natural source waters (not synthetic or lab-made feed water) and must operate at flow rates above one gallon per minute. Reclamation is essentially looking for projects that are far enough along to be meaningfully demonstrated under realistic field conditions, where operational complications, water chemistry variability, and practical deployment constraints can be evaluated. These pilots are expected to generate the kind of technical, practical, and economic information needed to judge feasibility, including the ability to develop preliminary cost estimates for capital expenses as well as operations and maintenance.

Another central theme is innovation that is genuinely distinctive. Applications are expected to clearly explain what makes the technology or process unique and why it should be considered innovative or disruptive, either because the underlying method is new or because the way it is being tested and validated represents a step-change from conventional practice. The program is trying to accelerate improvements that could meaningfully change the performance or economics of desalination and water purification, rather than incremental tweaks that do not materially shift outcomes.

The technical objectives in the announcement cover several major challenge areas. One priority is brackish groundwater treatment, with an emphasis on approaches that can reduce energy intensity compared to current technologies and standard processes. Another priority is management of reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration concentrate, including methods that cut costs and energy use or reduce environmental impacts associated with concentrate handling, disposal, or further treatment. The FOA also highlights improving overall process efficiency across water treatment trains, including advances in pre-treatment, post-treatment, monitoring approaches, sensors, and other process-control innovations that make systems more robust, less wasteful, or easier to operate. Seawater desalination challenges are also in scope, particularly solutions that address costs, energy use, or environmental impacts tied to intake and outfall systems, which are often major permitting and ecological concerns. Broadly, Reclamation is seeking technologies that help turn impaired or unusable water into water that meets the standards required for a clearly identified beneficial use, while minimizing energy and environmental burdens.

The award mechanism for this opportunity is a cooperative agreement, which typically signals substantial involvement by the funding agency during project execution (for example, collaboration on technical direction, review points, or coordination to ensure results are transferable and useful to the wider community). The opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development domain, listed under CFDA 15.560.

Eligibility is intentionally wide to attract strong ideas from across the water sector. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)); individuals; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. This broad eligibility reflects the program's emphasis on practical pilot demonstrations, which often require partnerships among utilities, universities, technology developers, and public agencies.

Key administrative details include the Funding Opportunity Number BOR DO 20 F014, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation. The FOA was created on May 4, 2020, with an original application deadline of June 17, 2020. The stated award ceiling is $150,000, and Reclamation anticipated making about six awards. The DWPR program is also positioned as supporting broader federal priorities at the time, including the 2018 Presidential Memorandum on reliable water supply and delivery in the West and the 2020 National Water Reuse Action Plan, reinforcing the focus on resilient water supplies, reuse, and more sustainable treatment approaches.

• The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Desalination and Water Purification Research Program Pitch to Pilot for Fiscal Year 2020" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.560.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 04, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 17, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $150,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Individuals, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

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