To evaluate the Bureau of Reclamation's (USBR) management of sustainable water programs and activities, OIG evaluated three financial assistance programs under the WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America's Resources for Tomorrow) Program. Specifically, we reviewed the selection, award, monitoring, and accomplishments of Water and Energy Efficiency Grants, Water Conservation Field Service Program grants, and cooperative agreements under the Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse program.
We found that USBR manages these financial assistance programs well, but it should take additional steps to improve its management of the WaterSMART Program to ensure transparency and fairness in its financial assistance programs. Our evaluation identified an overlap in grants awarded by two of the financial assistance programs, determined that one financial assistance program has no guidance on the maximum funding limitations of grant awards, and found ineligible costs totaling $18,404.67. We offered six recommendations in this report that we believe will help USBR improve its management of the WaterSMART Program.
USBR generally concurred with our findings and recommendations and has started to address some of the issues we identified during our evaluation.