Websites:
The EPA Water Finance Clearinghouse helps communities make informed decisions for their drinking water, wastewater, and storm water infrastructure needs. Includes searchable database for water infrastructure funding sources as well as information on financing mechanisms and approaches to access capital to meet water infrastructure needs.
Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) is a national network of non-profit organizations working to provide technical assistance, training, resources, and support to rural communities and individuals.
The Rural Utilities Service Water and Environmental Programs (WEP) helps rural communities obtain technical assistance and financing necessary to develop drinking water and waste disposal systems.
The USDA Circuit Rider Program provides technical assistance to rural water systems having day-to-day operational, financial, or management issues.
USDA Special Evaluation Assistance for Rural Communities and Households (SEARCH) Program helps very small, financially distressed rural communities with predevelopment feasibility studies, design, and technical assistance on proposed water and waste disposal projects.
These USDA programs provide information on low interest loans and grants available for small system infrastructure planning needs:
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS)
- The U.S. Department of Commerce’s- Economic Development Administration (EDA) Public Works and Economic Development Program
- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) Program
WaterOperator.org aggregates online resources for small system operators. Includes 11,000+ training events added annually and 17,000+ free resources indexed in the database as well as updated information from more than 800 state and national organizations. The website is a collaboration between the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with funding from the EPA.
The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program is a federal-state partnership to help ensure safe drinking water. Created by the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) the program provides financial support to water systems and to state safe water programs.
The Rural Water Loan Fund (RWLF) is a funding program specifically designed to meet the unique needs of small water and wastewater utilities. The RWLF provides low-cost loans for short-term repair costs, small capital projects, or pre-development costs associated with larger projects. The RWLF was established through a grant from the USDA/RUS, and repaid funds used to replenish the fund and make new loans.
Documents:
EPA Water Infrastructure Leadership Guide highlights successful financial tools that can help inform local water infrastructure investment decisions. Identify what is needed for financial planning, determine how to fund and finance a project, and consider which strategic approaches can be used to protect local investments.
Getting Your Project To Flow Smoothly: A Guide To Developing Water And Wastewater Infrastructure details steps in planning, designing, and constructing water infrastructure projects.
A Drop of Knowledge: The Non-Operator’s Guide to Drinking Water Systems explain a typical small-community water system—from the source of the drinking water, through the treatment process, to the customer’s tap—in an easy-to-understand manner.