EPA to fund small drinking water and wastewater systems

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will award $12.7m in grants to assist private well owners and drinking water and wastewater systems that serve fewer than 10,000 people.

The grants will provide training and technical assistance to improve small system operations and management practices, promote system sustainability and support the EPA’s mission to protect public health and the environment.

Of the funding, the National Rural Water Association and the Rural Community Assistance Partnership will each receive $4.5m to help small public water systems across the country to achieve and maintain compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. The National Rural Water Association will also be given $1.4m to improve operational performance at small publicly owned wastewater systems and decentralised wastewater systems in order to improve public health and water quality.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will receive $2m to improve the financial and managerial capabilities of small public water systems also.

The Rural Community Assistance Partnership will be given $300,000 to inform private drinking water well owners about improving water quality and protecting their drinking water supply.

EPA Office of Water acting assistant administrator Nancy Stoner said that it is a priority for the EPA to provide clean water to communities and help small systems to meet drinking water quality standards.

"This funding and technical assistance supports the EPA’s continuing efforts to promote sustainability and public health protection for communities served by small systems," Stoner added.

More than 97% of the 157,000 public water systems in the US serve fewer than 10,000 people, and more than 80% of these systems serve fewer than 500 people.