On October 22, 2024, DOI announced that it had awarded $9 million to two Kansas-based projects for drought mitigation. The first, the Kansas Equus Beds Aquifer Recharge, Storage and Recovery Project, will receive $7 million to recharge the Equus Beds Aquifer and provide water to the city of Wichita. The second, Kansas Voluntary Agreements Program, will receive $2 million to implement the Kansas Water Transition Assistance Program.
IRA section 50233 appropriates funding for DOI to distribute as grants for drought mitigation activities, including compensation for diversion of water or consumptive water use, voluntary conservation projects that reduce water use or provide other environmental benefits, and drought-related ecosystem and habitat restoration projects.