Virginia Dam Safety, Flood Prevention and Protection Assistance Fund

The Virginia Dam Safety, Flood Prevention and Protection Assistance Fund provides state grant assistance to improve public safety, reduce dam failure risk, and reduce flooding-related property damage in Virginia. The fund was established under the Code of Virginia to provide matching grants to local governments and private entities that own existing regulated dams, including local governments responsible for eligible orphan dams within their jurisdictions. The fund is administered and managed by the Virginia Resources Authority in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, and final funding recommendations are approved by the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board. The 2026 grant cycle is focused on dam safety projects. Although the fund authority also includes flood prevention and protection activities, the 2026 manual states that no funding is allocated for flood prevention and protection under this cycle, and interested applicants should instead pursue other flood-related funding sources such as the Community Flood Preparedness Fund or the Resilient Virginia Revolving Loan Fund. A total of $5,000,000 is available for this grant cycle. Up to $1,000,000 is available for Project Type 1 engineering studies for dams of regulatory size, with unknown hazard dams receiving priority. Up to $4,000,000 is available for Project Type 2 design, repair, removal, and safety modification projects for dams of regulatory size, with high hazard dams receiving priority. Eligible Project Type 1 activities include dam break inundation zone analysis, mapping, and digitization; emergency action plan development; professional engineer inspection projects; preliminary engineering or alternatives analysis; and geotechnical investigations. Project Type 1 grants require no more than a 10 percent project match by the applicant, or a minimum of $5,000, whichever is greater. Eligible Project Type 2 activities include final plans, specifications, and other alteration permit submittals; repair or safety modifications addressing static, hydrologic, seismic, or other qualifying failure modes; unsafe dam removal where no new impounding structure will be rebuilt; and installation of remote monitoring system instrumentation. Project Type 2 grants require a 30 percent project match. Maximum cost share amounts for Project Type 2 depend on owner type and hazard classification, with the highest listed maximum of $1,000,000 for private high hazard dams. Eligible applicants are Virginia local governments and private entities that own existing regulated dams. Local governments may include counties, cities, towns, municipal corporations, authorities, districts, commissions, political subdivisions, and combinations of these entities. Private entities may include individual dam owners, partnerships, corporations, homeowners associations, planned unit developments, common interest communities, and other nongovernmental entities recognized as dam owners. State-owned dams, federally owned dams, dams not regulated under the Dam Safety Act, dams claiming size-exempt status, agricultural-exempt dams unless repurposed as non-agricultural dams, and dam owners under formal administrative enforcement are ineligible unless otherwise determined eligible by the Board. Projects previously awarded and reimbursed by the fund are also ineligible, although a separate discrete project on the same dam may be eligible. Applications must be submitted through the online Dam Safety Inventory System. New users must register in DSIS before applying. A complete application must include Appendix A, a scope of work narrative, Appendix B scoring criteria, a budget narrative, evidence of ability to fund 100 percent of the project before reimbursement, required authorization documentation, and any required operation and maintenance certificate or permit documentation. Project Type 2 applicants must also provide a current professional engineer inspection with the application, and must have submitted an inundation study, including hazard classification, by the application deadline. Repair and safety modification applications must include a maintenance plan for the expected life of the project or at least 50 years, and must also discuss alternatives considered. Applications opened December 31, 2025 and were due by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on March 31, 2026. Applications are reviewed by the Division of Dam Safety for completeness and ranked according to the scoring criteria in Appendix B. DCR recommends qualified projects to the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board, which approves awards. The Board meeting for this cycle is tentatively scheduled for May 2026. After approval, VRA sends grant agreements to recipients, and signed grant agreements must be returned within 90 days. Grant funds are reimbursement-only and are disbursed only after project completion and approval of required reimbursement documentation. Projects must be discrete, must have commenced on or after July 1, 2025, and must end no later than 24 months after an executed agreement unless a one-year extension is approved. General application questions may be directed to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Dam Safety, by phone at (804) 371-6095 or by email at dam@dcr.virginia.gov. Grant agreement materials are handled by the Virginia Resources Authority, with agreement correspondence directed to Peter D'Alema at PDAlema@virginiaresources.org or (804) 616-3446. A grant training webinar was scheduled for January 22, 2026 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., covering the regulatory program overview, DSFPPAF grant training, timeline, project type details, review and scoring, awards and reimbursements, and the FEMA HHPD Grant Program. The program appears to operate in recurring grant rounds, with prior 2025 awards referenced and the 2026 round documented in the manual.

Prioritize completeness and eligibility documentation before submission because incomplete or late applications may be disqualified. Align the project narrative with Appendix B scoring criteria. For Project Type 1, unknown hazard dams receive priority. For Project Type 2, high hazard dams receive priority. Provide strong evidence that the applicant can fund 100% of project costs before reimbursement. Ensure the project is discrete, eligible, and commenced on or after July 1, 2025.