Training and Technical Assistance for Small Systems Funding

On this page: Background Most Recent Funding Cycle Program Implementation

Background

EPA annually awards Training and Technical Assistance to Improve Water Quality and Enable Small PWSs to Provide Safe Drinking Water grants. Funding for this program will be used for meeting technical, financial, and managerial needs at small public drinking water and wastewater systems to achieve and maintain compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act. It will also assist private well owners with improving water quality, including testing for PFAS contamination. Additionally, these investments can be used to address challenges with onsite wastewater management (e.g., septic systems).

Most Recent Funding Cycle

On May 20, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $30.7 million in grant funding for three organizations to provide training and technical assistance that will improve water quality in small and rural communities across the country. This support helps ensure that every American has access to clean and safe water and advances the goals of Administrator Lee Zeldin’s “Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative.

“Small and rural communities are the backbone of our country and they face unique challenges when it comes to ensuring clean and safe water,” said EPA Senior Advisor Jessica Kramer. “EPA is committed to assisting small and rural communities with improving water quality, protecting health, bolstering economic opportunities and protecting water resources. This $30 million in funding for technical assistance will help communities address their unique needs.”

EPA anticipates awarding federal grants to these recipients after legal and administrative requirements are satisfied:

• National Rural Water Association – $9 million to support small systems while enhancing operator licensing and conducting troubleshooting to determine factors affecting performance.
• Rural Community Assistance Partnership – $9.9 million to strengthen small systems, including by developing lead service line replacement plans and improving cybersecurity. In addition, $1.25 million will help small publicly owned wastewater and on-site/decentralized wastewater systems to improve water quality, and $3.45 million to work with private drinking water well owners to help improve water quality, including testing for PFAS contamination.
• Southwest Environmental Finance Center at the University of New Mexico – $7 million to build small system capabilities, improve operation efficiency and overall drinking water system performance.

Since 2012, this grant has provided over $170 million in funding to training and technical assistance providers. Training and technical assistance funding ensures providers are able to meet communities where they are and help them with water infrastructure challenges through circuit-rider and multi-state regional technical assistance programs, training and site visits, and focused efforts to diagnose and trouble-shoot and identify solutions for operational and compliance-related issues.

For more information about the grant, visit: https://www.epa.gov/dwcapacity/training-and-technical-assistance-improve-water-quality-and-enable-small-public-water-0

See the press release. 

Program Implementation

Based on annual appropriations the agency competes awards to provide training and technical assistance to small water systems. Historically this has been competed to a range of applicants including nonprofit organizations, nonprofit private universities and colleges, and public institutions of higher education.

Visit here for historical funding information. 

For additional information contact: SmallSystemsRFA@epa.gov

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