The award's purpose is to improve small water system compliance by providing training and technical assistance to rural, small, and tribal systems

Award Overview: The University of New Mexico received a $7.7 million Project Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Water under the Surveys, Studies, Investigations, Demonstrations, and Training Grants program (CFDA 66.424), authorized by Section 1442 of the Safe Drinking Water Act. The award, effective January 5, 2026 through December 31, 2027, supports comprehensive training and technical assistance initiatives designed to improve compliance among rural, small, and tribal water systems across all 50 states, U.S. territories, and tribal entities.

Products and Services Delivered: UNM and its sub-awardees provide training and technical assistance focused on building technical, managerial, and financial (TMF) capacity through multiple delivery methods including in-person training, national webinars, synchronous and asynchronous virtual sessions, peer-to-peer learning, and targeted conference presentations. Specific services include helping small water systems address regulatory compliance, conducting water audits, developing asset management plans, and resolving sanitary survey violations. Sub-awardees—including Michigan Technological University, Wichita State University, University of Maryland, Syracuse University, Colorado State University, Earth Island Institute, and Morgan State University—deliver regionally tailored trainings and technical assistance, with service areas encompassing EPA Regions 2, 7, and 8, along with targeted support for underserved and overburdened communities. Outcomes targeted include increased system compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, improved financial management, enhanced system resilience, and strengthened collaboration among water systems through resource-sharing and regionalization initiatives.

The applicant will provide training and technical assistance in all fifty states as well as tribal entities, and territories to help communities and small water systems achieve their technical, managerial, and financial goals.activities:training and technical assistance will focus on building technical, managerial, and financial capacity (TMF), improving compliance, promoting the sustainable and effective management of small water systems, increasing financial health, and improving system performance. The grantee will provide training to small water system operators, managers, and decision makers through an array of methods including in-person training, national webinars, synchronous virtual training, on-demand asynchronous training, peer-to-peer sessions, and targeted conference presentations. Through a structured consultation process, states, territories, and tribes identify priority training topics that best meet the needs of small water systems in their purview and specify their preferred delivery methods. The trainings will help small water systems meet federal and state regulatory requirements, improve their resilience, strengthen their technical knowledge, and build their financial and managerial capacity. Additionally, the grantee will provide technical assistance to small water systems including, as examples, addressing sanitary survey violations, conducting water audits, and creating asset management plans. Subrecipient:subrecipients will provide training and technical assistance (TA), blending traditional and innovative approaches, to improve TMF capacity of rural, small, and tribal systems.outcomes:UNM EFC will present trainings and provide technical assistance on topics relevant to the safe drinking water act and technical, managerial, and financial capacity. Outcomes include: increased number of systems: 1. Working towards achieving compliance with sdwa 2. Improving financial management after participating in an assessment or rate study 3. Collaborating with other water systems (e.g. sharing resources, joining their state warn) 4. Implementing asset management activities including data collection, condition assessment, goal setting, risk analysis, and life cycle costing 5. Developing oandm, emergency response, or succession plans 6. Participating in a water loss or energy audit, or source water protection activities 7. Integrating hazards, cyber risks and resilience into their business and operations practices; implementing mitigation measures 8. With websites, maps, hydraulic models, lead service line inventories increased knowledge of and/or competency in: 9. Rate equity, affordability, financial sustainability, funding sources and applications 10. Regulatory requirements, system operations, cybersecurity and resiliency planning 11. Leadership, stakeholder communication, workforce development and succession planning 12. Water conservation, water loss, source water protection and green infrastructure anticipated deliverables include: library resources, blogs, podcasts, videos, operator interviews and infohubs. Intended beneficiaries include small water system operators, managers, and decision makers.