Rural Decentralized Water System Grant Program
Grants to eligible nonprofit organizations to create and administer revolving loan/sub-grant funds that help low- to moderate-income individuals pay for household private water well and individually owned decentralized wastewater system costs.
RESTRICTED TO: NONPROFITS
⚑ Funds are for loans and sub-grants to individuals, plus nonprofit administrative costs; not a research award. · Applicants are limited to eligible nonprofit organizations. · Check program-specific eligibility and any rural/location and income requirements on the USDA site.
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| IPPRA | 15 none | university cannot apply directly (ineligible) |
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 15 none | university cannot apply directly (ineligible) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 5 none | no commercialization signal |
Description
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
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: Lois E East Grantor <Water-RD@usda.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · USDA NIFA conventions SEE A USDA EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — USDA NIFA's document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.