Drinking Water Tribal Set-Aside (DWTSA) Program
- Purpose
- Examples of Eligible Activities
- Eligibility Requirements
- Funding
- How Do I Apply for Funding?
- Important Dates
- Documents
Purpose
To assist federally recognized Tribes within EPA Region 9 to improve public water system infrastructure
Examples of Eligible Activities
Infrastructure projects funded through the DWTSA must address the most significant threats to public health associated with public water systems that serve Tribal populations. Eligible infrastructure improvement projects can:
- Rehabilitate/develop sources (excluding water rights);
- Install or upgrade treatment facilities;
- Install or upgrade storage facilities, including finished water reservoirs;
- Install or replace transmission and distribution pipes;
- Replace aging infrastructure if replacement is needed to maintain compliance or further the health protection goals of the SDWA;
- Install new transmission, distribution or service lines to connect existing homes to a public water supply;
- Water efficiency projects (e.g., installation of meters);
- Expansion, consolidation, or development of a new public water system (limited circumstances, see below); and
- Develop preliminary engineering reports (PERs).
EPA will also consider project eligibility for the following grant programs:
- Small, Underserved, and Disadvantaged Communities (SUDC) Grant Program (Section 2014 of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act) Assist public water systems in meeting Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requirements. Tribes are generally eligible to receive funding if the community population is less than 10,000 individuals.
Tribes may submit one project proposal that will be considered for the DWTSA and the SUDC Programs. EPA will determine the most appropriate funding for each project.
Eligible project examples under the SUDC Grant Program include:
- Investments necessary for a public water system to comply with the SDWA.
- Efforts that benefit a small or disadvantaged community on a per household basis.
- Programs to provide household water quality testing, including testing for unregulated contaminants.
- Activities necessary and appropriate to respond to a contaminant.
- Activities to increase technical, managerial, and financial capacity of a public water system.
Funding under this program cannot be used for operation and maintenance purposes or for routine compliance monitoring
Eligibility Requirements
Only federally recognized Indian Tribes within EPA Region 9 may submit proposals that benefit eligible public water systems (PWS). PWS eligibility is limited as follows:
- Only public water systems that are community water systems or non-profit, non-community water systems are eligible to receive funding;
- The water system must serve an Indian Tribe;
- The water system must be in compliance with the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations unless the project which is being funded will ensure compliance;
- The water system must be operated by adequately trained and certified operators; and
- The water system utility must have or be able to develop the technical, financial and managerial capacity to properly maintain the water system.
Funding
Approximately $19 million in FY26 funds may be available to support eligible projects, including up to $3 million in base DWTSA funds and up to $16 million in supplemental IIJA funds. The region also expects to receive nearly $14 million to address emerging contaminants in drinking water and $18 million to investigate and remove lead service lines. EPA has created additional guidance for both the Drinking Water Emerging Contaminant Programs and the DWTSA Lead Service Line Replacement (LSLR) Program.
Tribes may request that projects be awarded as a direct grant to a Tribe or an interagency agreement with the Indian Health Service (IHS). Tribes may also request in-kind assistance through an EPA-directed contractor to provide technical assistance, complete project planning and preliminary engineering and support construction oversight. This assistance will be awarded under Section 300j-12 of the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. §1452.
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number is 66.468. The Funding Opportunity Number (FON) is EPA-CEP-01.
How Do I Apply for Funding?
To be considered for FY26 DWTSA funds, EPA must receive proposals by December 5, 2025.
All Project Proposal Applications must include the following:
- Project Proposal Form; and
- Tribal Government Endorsement.
Construction Project Applications must include:
- A Preliminary Engineering Report (PER); and
- Documentation to Support the health category ranking
Planning Project Applications must include:
- A detailed project proposal and description of the health deficiency
- Documentation to support the health category ranking
- Proposed budget;
- Timeline for completion; and
- The outcome of the project must be the development of a PER.
E-mail one electronic copy of the proposal and any documentation to: Nancy Sockabasin, sockabasin.nancy@epa.gov.
Electronic files exceeding 8MB must be separated into emails not exceeding 8MB each. If you have difficultly submitting electronic documentation, contact Nancy Sockabasin.
Important Dates
December 5, 2025
EPA must receive proposals by this date, including the proposal form, Tribal government endorsement, and preliminary engineering reports (PERs) or planning project proposals with supporting documents. Proposals received after December 5, 2025, will not be considered for funding.
E-mail one electronic copy of the proposal and any documentation to: Nancy Sockabasin at sockabasin.nancy@epa.gov.
Electronic files exceeding 8MB must be separated into emails not exceeding 8MB each. If you have difficultly submitting electronic documentation, contact Nancy Sockabasin.
January 2026
EPA will notify each applicant of the draft proposal priority and whether the project is selected to continue with the application process.
March 2026
Applicants can submit comments on their draft project prioritization. For projects selected to continue with the application process, applicants must submit responses to any EPA comments and submit any additional documentation or endorsements that EPA requests.
April-August 2026
EPA notifies applicants of the final ranking and funding decision, along with guidance letters for projects to be funded by grant.
May-August 2026
Tribe submits grant application, or Indian Health Service submits draft Memorandum of Agreement and signed Project Summary (exact dates will be included in funding decision notification letters).
September 2026
EPA awards funds for selected projects.
Documents
DWTSA Guidance
- EPA Region 9 Fiscal Year 2026 DWTSA Guidance (pdf)
- EPA Region DWTSA Program Project Proposal Form (pdf)
- EPA Region 9 DWTSA Financial Spreadsheet (xlsx)
- Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) Template (Full Text - Updated) (pdf)
- EPA Region 9 Project Management Capacity Checklist for Public Water Systems (pdf)
- DWTSA Grant Project Management Checklist (pdf)