Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) recently announced the opening of the application period for the Pre Disaster Flood Resilience Grant Program, with applications due December 12th. WEM is also requesting potential applicants to send in a notice of intent to apply before October 10th. This helps both the applicant and program administrators identify whether this, or other programs, may be a good fit for a potential project.
The Pre-Disaster Flood Resilience Grant Program was allocated $2 million in the 2025-27 state budget for competitive grants to local governments impacted by flooding disasters. Two types of grants are available under the program:
- Assessment grants that enable gathering watershed, catchment, or stream reach scale
vulnerability data to understand how water is flowing and contributing to flood risks; or - Implementation grants that enable wetland, stream, and floodplain hydrologic restoration
projects that re-establish the landscape’s natural capacity to reduce flooding and protect
vulnerable infrastructure.
Local governments interested in learning more about the Pre-Disaster Flood Resilience Grant are encouraged to visit https://wem.wi.gov/mitigation-grant-opportunities for more information about this grant opportunity.
The Pre-Disaster Flood Resilience Grant Program was created in 2023 and re-funded in 2025 with strong bipartisan support. The Wisconsin Wetlands Association was an early collaborator, and the program remains an organizational priority because it empowers communities to understand the root causes of local flooding and reduce those risks through strategically restoring wetlands, streams, and floodplains.
