Through this program, the national rural water association will deliver a training and technical assistance program for small public water systems to promote compliance with the safe drinking water…

The National Rural Water Association (NRWA) was awarded an $8,735,556 Project Grant under the Surveys, Studies, Investigations, Demonstrations, and Training Grants - Section 1442 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (CFDA 66.424) program by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office for Water. The grant will support NRWA's delivery of a training and technical assistance program for small public water systems to promote compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and improve their technical, managerial, and financial capacity. Key activities include providing training courses with continuing education credits, diagnosing and troubleshooting system issues, assisting with accessing funding sources, improving emergency preparedness, and addressing emerging contaminants. NRWA will work with state affiliates through subawards to provide this assistance to tribal, small, and rural public water systems serving fewer than 10,000 people. The grant performance period is from August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025.

Description

Through this program, the national rural water association will deliver a training and technical assistance program for small public water systems to promote compliance with the safe drinking water act (sdwa) and improve financial and managerial capacity.activities:training specialists will provide training and technical assistance to small pwss to increase technical, managerial, and financial capacity, improve their ability to achieve and maintain safe drinking water act (sdwa) compliance, and increase access to safe drinking water. Training specialists willprovide training classes with approved continuing education units (ceus) to promote operator licensure and improve workforcedevelopment - key components of public water system (PWS) sustainability. This program will provide face-to-face and hybrid t/TA courses for operators, managers, and decision-makers associated with tribal, small, and rural pwss that serve populations of fewer than 10,000 people. Technical assistance (TA) will include but not be limited to activities such as: (1) diagnosing and troubleshooting system operational and compliance related issues; (2) providing guidance on lead and copper revisions and topics related to lead in the water, including TA with lead service line inventories and removal; (3) identifying project needs and following up with assistance in identifying and applying for funding sources including SRF; (4) helping systems become better prepared for climate related and manmade disasters; (5) assisting systems in identifying and responding to potential cybersecurity threats; (6) working with systems to develop risk and resiliency assessments and emergency response plans, especially systems serving populations fewer than 3,300 that are not required to certify these plans but can receive CEU credit for voluntary action; (7) offering solutions to address microbial, nitrate/nitrite, arsenic, radionuclides, PFAS, disinfection byproducts contamination, and other emerging contaminants; (8) identifying cost effective solutions; and (9) improving long-term management using community assistance programs (caps) and low-income household water assistance programs.subrecipient:subaward funding for state affiliates for cost of staff for training and onsite assistance in each state. Outcomes:national rural water association will present trainings and provide technical assistance on topics relevant to the safe drinking water act and national primary drinking water regulations compliance, and technical, managerial, and financial capacity. Outcomes include: - strengthened workforce at pwss with an increase in knowledge and competency of tribal, small, and rural PWS operators and decision-makers in a technical, managerial operational, and financial capacity, leading to more successful operations of the pwss - improved drinking water quality and public health, reflected in an increased number of tribal, small, and rural pwss in compliance with sdwa requirements and npdwrs - an increased level of financial capacity and identification of grant opportunities, measured by an increase in the number of tribal, small, and rural pwss accessing funds through srfs and other funding avenues to fund the replacement of insufficient or inadequate infrastructure - improved knowledge of cybersecurity threats and resources available for upgrades/mitigation - improved performance of tribal, small, and rural pwss where operational changes or other recommendations were implemented following a system diagnostic evaluation - an increase in the knowledge and competency of tribal, small, and rural PWS operators and decision-makers in regulatory requirements and effective compliance strategies - an increased level of emergency preparedness and resiliency in tribal, small, and rural pwss from completing risk and resilience assessments, including from climate change - an increased number of tribal, small, and