Training and Technical Assistance for Small Systems Funding

EPA Selects Recipients for $21.7 Million to Support Clean, Safe Water for Rural Communities

WASHINGTON (May18, 2022) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its selection of technical assistance providers to receive $21.7 million in grant funding to support small drinking water and wastewater systems that serve small and rural communities. This technical assistance funding builds on the agency’s recent announcement of $68 million to grow the pool of technical assistance providers through the Environmental Finance Center. EPA is committed to helping communities across America upgrade and maintain water infrastructure that is essential to public health and environmental protection.

“Small towns and rural communities face real challenges when it comes to upgrading water infrastructure that is often decades old and in need of replacing,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “By investing in communities through technical assistance, EPA is helping rural communities identify needs and build capacity to modernize water infrastructure and ensuring these communities can access the historic investment in water infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”

Most of the country’s water systems service relatively small populations in rural communities. Approximately 97 percent of the nation’s 145,000 public water systems serve fewer than 10,000 people. More than 80 percent of these systems serve fewer than 500 people. Many small systems face unique challenges—including aging infrastructure and workforce—in providing reliable drinking water and wastewater services that meet federal and state requirements.

EPA is taking steps to provide technical assistance on water infrastructure to communities that need it most through programs like today’s funding announcement and the Environmental Finance Center program. Recipients will offer technical assistance to small public water systems to keep clean water flowing for rural communities by achieving and maintaining regulatory compliance. Technical assistance will include circuit-rider and multi-state regional technical assistance programs, training and site visits, and training or technical assistance to diagnose and trouble-shoot system operational and compliance-related problems and identify solutions.

EPA anticipates that it will award grants to the following recipients once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.

Rural Community Assistance Partnership has been selected to receive:

$11.2 million to provide training and technical assistance for small public water systems to achieve and maintain compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, including improving financial and managerial capacity.
$1 million to work with small publicly owned wastewater and on-site/decentralized wastewater systems to improve water quality.
$850,000 to work with private well owners to help improve water quality.

National Rural Water Association has been selected to receive:

$7.8 million to provide training and technical assistance for small public water systems to achieve and maintain compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, including improving financial and managerial capacity.
$850,000 to work with private well owners to help improve water quality.

For information on previous announcements and selected recipients visit the historical funding page.