Federal Disaster Funding Opportunities for Water and Wastewater Utilities through the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds

EPA allocates grant funding through two State Revolving Funds (SRFs).  Administered by the states, the SRFs have the potential to support mitigation or post-disaster recovery and rebuilding projects.

• Drinking Water SRF
• Clean Water SRF
• Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA)

Drinking Water SRF

The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) provides low-interest loans to water systems in order to fund infrastructure projects. States may:

• Reserve a portion of their grants received from EPA to pay for technical assistance, and plan for and recover from disasters
• Provide priority funding for projects that are needed for an emergency or potential public health threat

• See the DWSRF profile and checklist below
• Visit EPA's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund website
• Contact your state DWSRF program

Clean Water SRF

• Support Clean Water Act requirements 
• Are low-interest loans or other assistance
• Are given to publicly owned wastewater collection and treatment systems, stormwater and nonpoint source pollution control projects, and estuary management projects

• See the CWSRF profile below
• Visit the EPA's Clean Water State Revolving Fund website.

Utilities should contact their state CWSRF program to learn more about the program.

Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA)

EPA administers the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program which can support eligible water and wastewater infrastructure mitigation projects. The WIFIA program can fund development and implementation activities for eligible projects:

• Wastewater conveyance and treatment projects that are eligible for the Clean Water SRF
• Drinking water treatment and distribution projects that are eligible for the Drinking Water SRF
• Enhanced energy efficiency projects at drinking water and wastewater facilities
• Brackish or seawater desalination, aquifer recharge, alternative water supply, and water recycling projects
• Drought prevention, reduction, or mitigation projects
• Acquisition of property if integral to project or will mitigate environmental impact of a project
• A combination of projects secured by a common security pledge or submitted under one application by an SRF program

WIFIA works separately from, but in coordination with, the State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs to provide subsidized financing for large dollar-value projects. For more detailed information, see our WIFIA website. 

The following resources provide brief information about the SRFs.

• Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Checklist (pdf) (178.37 KB)
  This document helps utilities identify activities necessary to obtain funding from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
• Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Profile (pdf) (50.27 KB)
  This document provides information on the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (DWSRFs) which provide low-interest loans to Public Water Systems (PWSs) for infrastructure improvements needed to protect public health and ensure compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act.
• Clean Water State Revolving Fund Profile (pdf) (46.9 KB)
  This document provides information on EPA's Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) programs to fund a wide variety of water quality projects including many types of nonpoint source, watershed protection or restoration, and estuary management projects, as well as more traditional municipal wastewater conveyance and treatment projects.