Seeking Drought Resiliency Projects - Consumptive Use Mitigation Grant Now Open

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2025

CONTACT:
Stacey Hanrahan
Communications & Outreach Specialist
Office: (717) 238-0423, ext. 1314

Consumptive Use Mitigation Grant Now Open

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) will award up to $6 million in funding through its Consumptive Use Mitigation Grant Program as part of the agency's commitment to improving the drought resiliency of our basin. Since its launch in 2021, the program has awarded nearly $27 million to more than 80 projects.

Awardees will use the funding to reduce water use or enhance supply, therefore helping to protect public health and safety, avoid water use conflicts, support economic production, and sustain ecological flows. Consumptive use (CU) refers to water that is used but not returned to rivers and streams because it is evaporated, transpired, incorporated into products, or otherwise lost.

The SRBC is seeking projects focused on reducing or offsetting CU during critical low flow periods including:

• Water storage and release projects (e.g., impoundments, inactive quarries, and underground mine pools);
• Projects that modify operations to increase drought resilience or improve environmental flows (e.g., reservoir conservation releases, aquifer storage and recovery, and coordinated use of surface water and groundwater);
• Demand modification projects (e.g., projects that achieve water conservation, reuse, and/or recycling); and
• Groundwater replenishment alternatives (e.g., projects that increase groundwater recharge, preserve critical aquifer recharge areas and/or retrofit stormwater best management practices).

Preference will be given to projects with quantifiable water savings. Last year's awarded projects are estimated to deliver more than 400 million gallons of water savings a year combined.

Applications are limited to one per organization. A minimum 20% cash match of the requested funds is required. These grant dollars are non-federal and non-state so leveraging opportunities, especially if used as a match, are outstanding.

The Commission will host an informational webinar on November 20 to provide an overview of the grant program, demonstrate the online grant application, and answer questions. Applications will be accepted from November 3, 2025 through January 30, 2026, and awardees will be announced next April. To register and for full details on the grant, please visit our website.

About the Susquehanna River Basin Commission

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission is a federal/interstate government agency responsible for protecting and wisely managing the water resources within the 27,500 square-mile Susquehanna River Basin without regard to political boundaries. The Susquehanna rises and flows through New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland into the Chesapeake Bay. For more information on the Commission, visit srbc.gov.