Introduction

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments of 1996 (Pub. L. 104– 182) authorize the creation of the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program. The purpose of the DWSRF is to assist public water systems finance the costs of infrastructure necessary to achieve or maintain compliance with SDWA requirements and to protect public health. Section 1452 authorizes the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award capitalization grants to States, who in turn provides low interest loans and other types of assistance to eligible drinking water systems.

The SDWA Amendments also establish a strong emphasis on preventing drinking water contamination through source water protection and enhanced water systems management. That emphasis transforms the previous law from a largely after-the-fact regulatory orientated program into a statute that can provide for the sustainable use of water. Central to this emphasis is the development of State prevention programs, including source water protection, capacity development and operator certification programs. States have the option to use a portion of their capitalization grants to fund these eligible activities as allowed in the statute. The successful implementation of these activities will help safeguard the DWSRF funds that are loaned to water systems for infrastructure improvements, thereby improving system compliance and public health protection.

The DWSRF program will help ensure that 1) the nation’s drinking water supplies remain safe and affordable, 2)drinking water systems that receive funding will be properly operated and maintained, and 3)permanent institutions will exist in each State to provide financial support for drinking water needs for many years to come. Through the DWSRF Congress has placed particular emphasis on assisting smaller drinking water systems and those serving less affluent populations, by providing greater funding flexibility for these systems to ensure that systems have adequate technical, managerial, and financial resources to maintain compliance and provide safe water into the future.

Further Information Sources

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• Preparing for Climate Change at the New England Drinking Water Utilities (PDF) (1 pg, 709 K)
• Considerations for Water Infrastructure Projects (PDF) (1 pg, 1.2 MB)
• New England Water Infrastructure Funding Options Brochure (PDF) (12 pp, 982 K)
• Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF)
  • Reports and Fact Sheets about the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF)
• State DWSRF Links
  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

Contacts

Below you will find contact information for the Drinking Water SRF program at both the state and federal level. At the state level, please note that there is a programmatic contact and a contact for the financial portion of the program.

* EPA Region 1 Acting DWSRF Coordinator