A. The water conservation grant committee is established to advise the board and consists of the following members who are appointed by the board:

1. One member who represents a public water system that serves five hundred or more connections.

2. One member who represents a public water system that serves less than five hundred connections.

3. One member who represents a county with a population of five hundred thousand or more persons.

4. One member who represents a county with a population of less than five hundred thousand persons.

5. One member who represents an advocacy group with a primary focus on water conservation.

6. One member who represents a university in this state and who has significant knowledge in water conservation.

7. One member who represents a natural resource conservation district established pursuant to Title 37, Chapter 6.

8. The director of the department of water resources or the director’s designee.

B. The water conservation grant committee shall review applications for grant requests from the water conservation grant fund and shall make recommendations to the board regarding those applications.

C. The water conservation grant committee shall meet at least once a month to review grant applications, except that the committee need not meet in any month in which no applications are pending before the committee. The board may require the committee to hold additional meetings to consider applications that are or may become time sensitive. The committee shall allow members of the public to provide comment on an application considered by the committee at a meeting.

D. The water conservation grant committee is considered a subcommittee of the board for the purposes of section 49-1206.