Five projects in Colorado will receive a total of $4.58 million from the Bureau of Reclamation to improve water metering systems.

The largest grant of $1.5 million will go to the city of Thornton to upgrade nearly 20,000 residential meters and install a citywide “advanced metering” system that will save an estimated 1,665 acre-feet of water per year that would normally be lost to leaks and customer waste.

Greeley will receive nearly $1.5 million to upgrade 14,500 advanced meters, saving 1,129 acre-feet annually and conserving that water for future droughts. Longmont, Grand Junction and Aspen will receive between $300,000 and $800,000 each to improve leak detection and collect hourly or real-time consumption data.

The bureau awarded nearly $41 million to 12 western and Midwestern states in the latest announcement, including for canal lining, advanced water metering, real-time water monitoring, flow measurement and irrigation projects. Since 2010, its WaterSMART program has given $940 million in federal money, with $3 billion in non-federal matches. The goals of the grants are to modernize infrastructure and sustainably develop natural resources.

“The WaterSMART program is helping Reclamation address the West’s water challenges,” said Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman. “Water and Energy Efficiency Grants provide water districts and communities the needed assistance to modernize their water delivery infrastructure and increase hydropower generation.”