Painted desert water and wastewater treatment training and technical assistance program for rural and very low-income tribal communities in the southwest - painted desert demonstration projects,…

The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families awarded Painted Desert Demonstration Projects, Inc. $600,000 on September 30, 2025, under the Community Services Block Grant Discretionary Awards program (CFDA 93.570), specifically the Rural Community Development funding opportunity.

Painted Desert Demonstration Projects, Inc., doing business as The Star School, will provide training, technical assistance, engineering support, and certified operator training to improve access to drinking water and wastewater systems in tribal communities across the four-state region of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, with emphasis on the Navajo Nation. The organization will identify infrastructure deficiencies, contamination risks, and compliance gaps; create and implement technical solutions; and provide grant and loan assistance navigation to help communities access additional infrastructure improvement funding. Over the five-year performance period ending September 29, 2030, the project aims to serve 10–15 new tribal communities, provide household-level technical assistance to 50 households, develop 5–10 full project concepts, certify 10–15 water and wastewater operators, and implement 10–15 technical solutions.

The recipient is a nonprofit organization based in Flagstaff, Arizona, with extensive experience delivering federal grants focused on education, water infrastructure, and community development to Native American and rural communities. Place of performance is Arizona.

Painted desert water and wastewater treatment training and technical assistance program for rural and very low-income tribal communities in the southwest - painted desert demonstration projects, INC. (pddp) will use RCD funds to improve access to drinking water and wastewater systems, alleviating persistent health, environmental, and economic challenges in tribal communities across the four-corner navajo nation and other rural tribal lands throughout arizona, colorado, new mexico, and utah. Pddp will provide culturally grounded programming that strengthens water and wastewater treatment, expands access to safe and affordable water resources, builds long-term local capacity, enhances coordination with federal, state, and local agencies, and attracts additional public and private funding to sustain critical infrastructure improvements. The project will identify infrastructure deficiencies, contamination risks, and compliance gaps and create solutions that will address those issues through training, technical assistance, engineering support, and certified operator training. Grant and loan assistance will also be provided to help communities access additional infrastructure improvement funding. Over the grant period, pddp aims to service 10-15 new tribal communities, impact 50 households with household level technical assistance, develop 5-10 full project concepts, certify 10-15 water and wastewater operators, and improve water and wastewater services by implementing 10-15 technical solutions.