Rural Decentralized Water System Grant Program
Closed Posted
- Opportunity number
- RDRUS-26-DWS2
- 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
- Points of contact
-
- Christina Cerio water-rd@usda.gov (202) 568-1119
- Full announcement
Opportunity details come from Grants.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
USDA Rural Utilities Service is soliciting applications for grants to establish revolving loan and sub-grant funds serving low- to moderate-income rural households financing individually owned water well and wastewater systems, with applications due September 30, 2026.
Eligible applicants are private nonprofit organizations meeting requirements under 7 CFR 1776.5 with demonstrated expertise and experience in lending activities and promoting safe, productive use of individually owned household water well systems and ground water. Applicants must maintain active System for Award Management (SAM) registration and a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) at application and throughout the award period. Prior DWS grant recipients cannot renew or supplement existing awards but may apply for new projects.
Approximately $11 million in grant funding is available, with $1 million specifically designated for applications supporting individually owned household decentralized wastewater system subgrants. Grant awards carry no minimum or maximum funding amount. Up to 50 percent of awarded funds may be used for subgrants to eligible individuals; individual loans are capped at $15,000 per recipient with terms up to 20 years at one percent annual interest. Grant funds also cover administrative expenses associated with loan and sub-grant delivery.
Period of performance runs January 1, 2027 to December 31, 2027, with anticipated award date in Winter 2026. Funds may be used to construct, refurbish, rehabilitate, or replace decentralized water well systems (through the point of entry where water enters the home) and wastewater systems (through the point of exit where wastewater exits into the septic tank and drain field).
Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov using funding opportunity number RDRUS-26-DWS2. Competitive scoring awards up to 100 points across seven categories: expertise in promoting water well systems (30 points), loan servicing experience (20 points), applicant contribution percentage (20 points), work plan comprehensiveness (20 points), goal clarity and measurability (10 points), administrative expense ratio (10 points), and discretionary points for innovative marketing and resource optimization (10 points). Applications demonstrating less than 10 percent applicant contribution are ineligible.
Assistance Listing 10.862; authorized under Section 306E of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act and implemented under 7 CFR part 1776 and 2 CFR part 200.
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.
Eligibility
Information on eligibility is available at this website: https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/water-environmental-programs/rural-decentralized-water-systems-grant-program
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