Rural Decentralized Water System Grant Program
Closed Posted
- Opportunity number
- RDRUS-26-DWS
- Agency
-
Rural Utilities Services
Washington Office, Department of Agriculture
- Applications due
- Award size
- Not on record
Opportunity facts
- Assistance listings
- Funding instrument
- Grant
- Category
-
- Community Development
- Eligible applicants
-
- Other
- Full announcement
Opportunity details come from Grants.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Rural Decentralized Water Systems (DWS) Grant Program, administered by the USDA Rural Utilities Service, seeks to provide grants to eligible nonprofit organizations to establish revolving loan funds for low to moderate income individuals in rural areas. The program will finance the construction, refurbishment, rehabilitation, or replacement of individually owned water well and wastewater systems, with loan amounts not exceeding $15,000 and terms up to 20 years at a 1% annual interest rate. Eligible applicants must be private, nonprofit organizations with demonstrated expertise in lending and water system infrastructure, and must have the legal capacity to perform grant obligations. Applications will be evaluated and scored competitively based on seven key criteria, including organizational expertise, loan servicing experience, proposed work plan, goal clarity, and administrative expense ratio, with a maximum possible score of 100 points. The application period is open from October 1, 2025, to December 1, 2025, with electronic submissions required through Grants.gov by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the closing date.
The program will make approximately $6,000,000 available, with $1,000,000 specifically reserved for subgrants supporting individually owned household decentralized wastewater systems. Anticipated award date is December 31, 2025, with funding distributed on a reimbursement basis to successful applicants. Geographically, the program targets truly rural areas and rural communities, with considerations given to factors such as population, low income, unemployment, and existing health and sanitary problems. Applicants must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), possess a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), and comply with federal requirements including civil rights laws and non-discrimination standards. The program is authorized under Section 306E of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.
Synopsis
The DWS Grant Program has been established to help individuals with low to moderate incomes finance certain costs of household water wells and individually owned decentralized wastewater systems that they own or will own. Grants are made to eligible nonprofit organizations to establish and maintain a revolving fund to provide loans and sub-grants to eligible individuals for individually owned water well systems and/or individually owned wastewater systems. Loan and/or sub-grant funds may be used by the individual to construct, refurbish, rehabilitate, or replace decentralized water well or wastewater systems. For water well systems, funds may be used up to the point of entry to a home, which is the junction where water enters into a home water delivery system after being pumped from a well. For wastewater systems, in lieu of the point of entry, the point of exit is substituted. The point of exit is the junction where wastewater exits out of the home wastewater collection system into the septic tank and drain field. DWS grant funds may be used by the nonprofit recipient to pay administrative expenses associated with providing DWS loans and/or sub-grants.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| FY26 DWS Application Guide.pdf | ||
| FY26 DWS NOFO.pdf |
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