The GROW SMART Act amends the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991, authorizing the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance for drought preparedness and response. This support targets innovative voluntary water partnership agreements and projects undertaken by individual agricultural entities.

The goal of these projects is to keep agricultural land in production, support income and employment levels in rural communities, and provide affordable or redundant water supplies. Innovative approaches must be new or lack an established track record, encompassing strategies like agreements that insulate agricultural water users from crop failures, the adoption of water-saving commodities, or methods to reduce consumptive water use, such as hydroponics, agrovoltaics, or advanced irrigation technologies. Approaches involving extensive fallowing or widely understood crops are generally excluded.

Qualified applicants typically involve a voluntary partnership between agricultural entities (including irrigation districts) and municipal water providers, industrial entities, states, or nonprofit conservation organizations. However, states, state agencies, Indian Tribes, or agricultural entities can also receive assistance for individual projects that employ innovative approaches or address declining groundwater supplies or freshwater inflows, particularly when facing significant water supply reductions.

The Secretary prioritizes applications based on factors such as dedicating saved water to other users, the degree of innovation, estimated reduction in consumptive water use, and the project's potential to support income and employment. The federal share of costs is capped at 75 percent, though this can be waived for Tribal entities. Funding is drawn from existing sources, with an additional $5 million authorized annually for fiscal years 2028 through 2034.