Small Drinking Water and Wastewater Systems Receive Funding from EPA
The EPA will be awarding $12.7 million in funds to help small drinking and wastewater systems, as well as private well owners, improve operations and to better protect the public and the environment.
The EPA has selected four grantees to receive more than $12 million in funds for improving small drinking and wastewater systems. Here is a breakdown of the funds: $4 million will go to National Rural Water Association and another $4 million will go to Rural Community Assistance Partnership; both of these organizations will help small water systems across the United States reach and keep compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. $1.8 million has been given to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to improve water management of their small public water systems.
The Rural Community Assistance Partnership will receive another $1.2 million to improve small publicly-owned wastewater systems, as well as $1.7 million to assist private drinking water well owners in protecting their water supply and improving the quality of their water.
"Ensuring safe drinking water for all Americans, whether they live in a small town or a big city, is a priority for EPA and these grants will help smaller systems in communities across the country," said Joel Beauvais, deputy assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Water.
The United States has 157,000 public water systems, and 97 percent of those serve fewer than 10,000 people. And 80 percent of those systems serve 500 people or fewer, so this funding will help those systems tackle the unique challenges of these small water systems.