EPA Grant: Boosting Drinking Water System Resilience in Underserved Communities

EPA is soliciting applications from eligible entities for projects in underserved communities that are disadvantaged or serve a population of less than 10,000 individuals to increase drinking water system resilience to natural hazards as described in Assistance Listing 66.448. For the purposes of this grant program, the term “resilience,” as defined in (SDWA section 1433(h) and incorporated by reference in SDWA section 1459A, means the ability of a community water system or an asset of a community water system, for example the equipment, buildings, land, people, and other components needed to deliver safe and clean water, to adapt to or withstand the effects of a natural hazard without interruption to the corresponding function, or if the function is interrupted, to rapidly return to a normal operating condition. For the purposes of this grant program, the term “natural hazard” means a natural event, such as an earthquake, tornado, flood, hurricane, wildfire, drought, freezing or hydrologic change that threatens the functioning of a community water system, as defined in Section 1433(h) of the SDWA and incorporated by reference in section 1459A. When considering these natural disaster threats, a public water system may take into account risks associated with climate change to ensure that resilience-building activities address future conditions such as increasing or decreasing temperatures, changes in precipitation, and, where applicable, sea-level rise. The goal of the first National Priority Area is to increase drinking water system resilience by implementing smaller-scale resilience projects informed by drinking water system plans. The goal of the second National Priority Area is to improve drinking water system resilience through large-scale infrastructure improvements and/or optimization of mitigation measures at a drinking water system.