Dam safety projects may be eligible for more than $10.6M in Virginia matching grant funding

More than $10.6 million in matching grants are available to Virginia‘s more than 2,500 regulated dam owners.

The funding comes from the Virginia Dam Safety, Flood Prevention and Protection Assistance Fund with a total of $10,632,500 for dam safety projects. Requests must be submitted by 4 p.m. on March 15, 2024.

The fund is managed by the Virginia Resources Authority on behalf of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.

“These grants will help recipients take necessary steps to protect lives and property, while making communities more resilient to flooding. We encourage eligible dam owners to apply, because dam safety is essential to public safety,” said DCR Director Matthew Wells.

Virginia dam owners are responsible for the safe operation and maintenance of their dams. In the event of a failure, dam owners are responsible for any downstream damage.

All grants are reimbursements and require a 50 percent match. The maximum amount per grant is determined based on amounts requested for eligible projects, application scores and available funds.

Grants are offered in three project type categories:

Project Type 1: Unknown hazard dams
Up to $1 million is available for inspections, dam breach inundation studies, and emergency action plan development of local government or privately owned dams with an undetermined hazard classification. Applications to fund multiple projects may be submitted for the same dam.

A total matching fund of $9,632,520 is available for the following categories, $2 million of which is available for local government-owned or privately owned dams and $7,632,500 is available for privately owned high-hazard dams.

Project Type 2: Plans, specifications, engineering studies and instrumentation
Grants are available for local government or privately owned dams with approved, active Conditional Operation and Maintenance Certificates on file with DCR at the time of application. Applications for multiple projects may be submitted for the same dam.

Project Type 3: Dam repair, safety modifications or removal
Grants are available for both local government-owned and privately owned dams. Applications are limited to one per dam, with maximum per project funding ranging from $62,500 up to $1 million depending on the dam’s hazard class and resulting Operations and Maintenance Certificate type (see the grant manual Table 1. Per-Project/Dam Request Cost-Share Maximums). Deferred maintenance is not eligible for funding.

The grant manual and registration for grant training are available online. For more information, contact your regional dam safety engineer or email [email protected].