Rural Decentralized Water System Grant Program | RDRUS 21 01 DWS

Opportunity Information: Apply for RDRUS 21 01 DWS

The Rural Decentralized Water System Grant Program (DWS), offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Utilities Programs, is a discretionary grant opportunity designed to improve basic household water and wastewater infrastructure for people with low to moderate incomes in rural areas. Instead of paying directly for a single construction project, the program funds organizations that will set up and operate a revolving fund. That revolving fund is then used to provide financing assistance to eligible individual homeowners in the form of loans and sub-grants, helping them afford essential upgrades to privately owned water wells and decentralized wastewater systems such as septic systems.

A key feature of this program is how the money is intended to flow and be reused over time. Grant recipients are required to establish and maintain a revolving fund, meaning funds that are repaid through loans can be cycled back to assist additional households later. Through that structure, the program aims to stretch federal dollars further by creating a continuing source of local financing for small, high-need household water and wastewater improvements. The grant can also cover certain administrative costs tied to running the loan and sub-grant program, recognizing that underwriting, servicing, outreach, and compliance work are necessary to deliver financing to households effectively.

For households that ultimately receive support through the revolving fund, the allowable uses are focused on the parts of the system that serve the home itself. For individually owned well systems, funds can be used to construct new wells or to refurbish, rehabilitate, or replace an existing decentralized water system, but only up to the "point of entry" to the home. The notice defines that point of entry as the junction where the water enters the home water delivery system after being pumped from the well. In other words, the assistance is aimed at the well and associated components leading to the home, not broader municipal infrastructure.

For decentralized wastewater systems, the program uses a parallel concept but substitutes a "point of exit" rather than a point of entry. The point of exit is defined as the junction where wastewater leaves the home’s internal collection plumbing and flows into the septic tank and drain field. Funding can support construction, refurbishment, rehabilitation, or replacement of individually owned wastewater systems up to that point of exit, aligning the program with household-scale systems and clarifying the boundary between eligible household infrastructure and anything beyond the home system.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is listed under CFDA 10.862 and falls within activity areas that include agriculture, community development, environment, and health, which reflects the public health importance of safe drinking water and reliable wastewater disposal. The opportunity number is RDRUS 21 01 DWS. It anticipated making around 10 awards, and the listing shows an award ceiling of 0, which typically indicates that the maximum award amount is not specified in the summary field and would need to be confirmed in the full notice or related program guidance.

Eligibility is summarized as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the full eligibility text, meaning the program is generally aimed at entities capable of operating a revolving loan and sub-grant fund rather than individual homeowners applying directly to USDA. In practice, the applicant is usually an intermediary organization that can manage funds, evaluate household eligibility, issue and service loans and sub-grants, and ensure funds are used only for eligible well and septic-related purposes within the defined limits.

The posting dates in the source information indicate the opportunity was created June 4, 2021, with an original closing date of July 19, 2021. Even if this specific posting window has passed, the summary captures the program’s core intent and structure: building local revolving financing mechanisms to help lower-income rural households address critical, privately owned drinking water and wastewater system needs.

• The Department of Agriculture, Utilities Programs in the agriculture, community development, environment, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Rural Decentralized Water System Grant Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.862.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 04, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 19, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for RDRUS 21 01 DWS

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