USDA Rural Development currently lists the Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants program as open. Applications are accepted on an ongoing October 1 through September 30 cycle through RD Apply or the applicable USDA Rural Development office.
Purpose and community health relevance
The program helps eligible rural communities prepare for, or recover from, an emergency that threatens the availability of safe and reliable drinking water. USDA identifies qualifying emergencies such as drought, flood, earthquake, tornado, hurricane, disease outbreak, chemical spill, leak or seepage, and other disasters. A federal disaster declaration is not required.
Eligible applicants and areas
Eligible applicants include rurally located public bodies, nonprofit organizations, and federally recognized Tribes. Projects must serve eligible rural areas or towns generally having populations of 10,000 or fewer, Tribal lands in rural areas, or qualifying colonias. USDA also applies an income test to the area served, and the applicant must demonstrate that a major decline in water quantity or quality occurred within two years of application or that a significant decline is imminent.
Funding and eligible uses
Water transmission line grants may provide up to $150,000 for waterline extensions, repairs to breaks or leaks, and related maintenance needed to replenish the water supply. Water source grants may provide up to $1,000,000 for new wells, reservoirs, transmission lines, treatment plants, and other eligible water sources through the treatment plant. USDA encourages partnerships with other federal, state, local, private, and nonprofit entities and does not state a universal mandatory non-Federal match percentage on the current national program page.
Atlas assessment
Atlas Opportunity Score: 84/100. The program has a direct rural community health and resilience nexus because it addresses emergency loss or imminent loss of safe drinking water, including emergencies involving disease outbreaks and contamination.
N9+ Fit Score: 0/100. The published federal scope is emergency drinking water infrastructure. It does not establish a clinical device, telehealth, remote examination, or healthcare equipment pathway, so the Nonagon N9+ device and platform should not be positioned under this program absent separate written USDA confirmation for a specific project.
Dr. Miltie direct applicant or vendor fit: 0/100 under the published federal structure. The direct applicants are eligible public bodies, nonprofits, and federally recognized Tribes, and the funded work is water infrastructure rather than an ordinary clinical technology procurement.
Application controls
Applicants should contact the USDA Rural Development office serving the project before preparing an application and should verify the qualifying emergency, service area population and income requirements, project-specific engineering and environmental requirements, current forms, available appropriations, and state-specific submission requirements. The program is governed by 7 CFR Part 1778 and Section 306A of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.
Official source: USDA Rural Development — Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants.