The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will distribute $30.7 million to improve water quality in small and rural communities across the nation through dedicated training and technical assistance.
The funding comes from the Real Water Technical Assistance Initiative (RealWaterTA) – a broad federal program supporting several initiatives tied to sustaining clean, safe water and wastewater systems. The initiative includes eight priorities to safeguard critical water infrastructure:
- Support returning to and maintaining compliance.
- Focus on traditional and innovative water infrastructure.
- Define the scope of technical assistance.
- Strengthen technical, managerial and financial management.
- Empower the water workforce.
- Improve financial readiness and access to financial assistance.
- Reduce inefficient costs.
- Drive real-world results.
The EPA will deliver three awards through the Training and Technical Assistance to Improve Water Quality and Enable Small PWSs to Provide Safe Drinking Water grant subprogram. The nearly $31 million investment represents the latest annual round in rural communities.
Recipients typically include small public drinking water systems, small publicly owned wastewater systems, onsite/decentralized wastewater systems and private well owners. Funding can typically be used to maintain federal compliance by identifying lead service lines, testing for per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) contamination and resolving issues with onsite wastewater management.
The Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) will receive the lion’s share of the funding, totaling $14.6 million. The grant will help provide technical, managerial and financial training and technical assistance for operators, board members and managers. RCAP will implement solutions to resolve drinking water regulatory compliance failures, improve wastewater system treatment, adopt sustainable management practice and ensure properly maintained private drinking water wells.
The National Rural Water Association (NRWA) will use its $9.1 million share to provide training and technical assistance to enhance the technical, managerial and financial capabilities of small systems across the U.S. In addition to improving rate-setting and fiscal planning, the association will improve capabilities when diagnosing and troubleshooting system operational and compliance-related issues, supporting efforts to help small systems use asset management programs as a standard operating practice.
The remaining $7 million will go to the Southwest Environmental Finance Center at the University of New Mexico. The university will use the grant to create asset management plans and assess system financial health. Funding will directly impact operational, managerial and financial struggles in small communities, support lead service line inventories and provide training on PFAS regulations and treatment.
Photo by Luis Quintero from Pexels
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