The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) is accepting applications for the 2026 Water Acquisition Grant Program, supporting projects that acquire an interest in water or otherwise produce legally or contractually protected instream flows to address habitat and species conservation needs or improve water quality in designated water-quality-limited areas.
Deadline
Applications are open statewide and are due October 14, 2026 at 5:00 PM. OWEB’s current program page and Summer 2026 guidance state the closing time but do not separately label a time zone, so Atlas does not infer one. OWEB strongly recommends submitting at least three working days before the deadline through its online Grant Management System (OGMS).
Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants include any Tribe, watershed council, soil and water conservation district, not-for-profit corporation, school, Oregon institution of higher education, independent not-for-profit institution of higher education, or political subdivision of Oregon that is not a state agency. State and federal agencies may partner with an eligible entity.
Eligible Projects and Costs
Eligible project types include instream leases, split-season use instream leases, time-limited instream transfers, conserved-water projects through Oregon Water Resources Department programs, permanent instream transfers, and water-use agreements. Projects must produce protected instream flows tied to identified conservation needs or water-quality objectives.
Eligible costs may include the purchase price and option fees for an interest in water, qualifying conveyance or efficiency project elements, bridge-loan interest, staff and contracting costs, necessary outreach, due diligence, closing costs, and monitoring. Certain project-planning and outreach costs that lead to eligible water-acquisition projects are capped at 25% of the OWEB request and $50,000 per application. Planning- or outreach-only requests are ineligible, and all proposed projects must include on-the-ground implementation.
Funding and Match
The Summer 2026 guidance states that there is no maximum award amount. Applicants must demonstrate that they are seeking or have secured match equal to at least 25% of the amount requested from OWEB. Match may be cash or in-kind and does not have to be fully secured at application, but proof that the full 25% match has been secured is required before grant payments are released.
Registration and Submission
Applicants need an OGMS organizational login. OWEB requires organization and payee contact information and FEIN information when establishing access. All grantees must be registered in SAM.gov and have a Unique Entity Identifier before receiving a grant agreement. Applications are submitted entirely through OGMS.
Contact
Brian Wolcott, Water Acquisition Coordinator, brian.r.wolcott@oweb.oregon.gov, 971-345-7010.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 67/100. N9+ Fit Score: 0/100. The program is legitimate Oregon school- and higher-education-eligible funding with no published award ceiling, but its scope is specialized water-right acquisition and instream-flow restoration. No verified healthcare, telehealth, guided-vitals, remote physical examination, connected-diagnostics, or QC Healthcare technology use case exists, so Atlas does not force an N9+ fit and recommends no Dr. Miltie applicant outreach.
Official source: Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board – Water Acquisition Grants.