Rural Decentralized Water Systems Grant Program — USDA Rural Development funding opportunity
USDA Rural Development · Federal agency

Rural Decentralized Water Systems Grant Program

This program helps qualified nonprofits and tribes create a revolving loan fund to increase access to clean, reliable water and septic systems for households in eligible rural areas. Rural Decentralized Water Systems Gra...

69
match
Award Up to $15k Deadline Rolling Location Alabama Type grant Level Federal Open
✦ AI Summary
  • Who can apply: Federal-level applicants (see eligibility for details).
  • Funding amount: up to $15,000.
  • Deadline: Rolling — applications accepted any time.
  • Catch: Match funding required — you must contribute your own money on top of the award.
  • Issued by: USDA Rural Development.
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How was this generated?

The “key facts” mode pulls structured fields directly from the official source posting (amount, deadline, eligibility tags). The AI mode adds a short plain-English narrative on top, generated from the same source. Always verify with the agency before applying.

AI-generated. Always verify with the official source.

Who can apply — at a glance

  • Eligible applicants: see the Eligibility tab for the criteria from the official announcement.
  • Where: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, District of Columbia.
  • Award: Up to $15k.
  • Matching funds: required.
  • Deadline type: Rolling.

Compiled from the official listing's structured fields — always verify with the funder before applying.

About the funder

USDA Rural Development is a federal-level funder.

See all 32 open programs from this agency →

Award amount
Up to $15k
Deadline
Rolling
Match required
Yes

About this opportunity

This program helps qualified nonprofits and tribes create a revolving loan fund to increase access to clean, reliable water and septic systems for households in eligible rural areas. Rural Decentralized Water Systems Grant Program Application Window: Open Program Application Period: The application period is July 28, 2026, through September 30, 2026. Good to Know: The Notice of Funding Opportunity will be posted to Grants.gov when the application period opens. You may review the previous period’s posting by clicking on Grants.gov posting below. You may also contact the Grant Manager at [email protected] with questions about the program. For state specific information: -- Select State -- Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Rhode Island Delaware and Maryland Delaware and Maryland Florida and Virgin Islands Georgia Hawaii and Western Pacific Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont and New Hampshire Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Fact Sheet Grants.gov Posting Overview To Apply Other Requirements Contact Events Overview What does this program do? This program provides grant funding to qualified nonprofits, including tribally owned nonprofits, to create a revolving loan fund or to award sub-grants to homeowners for supporting access to individually owned water and wastewater services in eligible rural areas. Who may apply for these grants? Nonprofits that have: Expertise and experience promoting the safe, productive use of individually-owned household water wells systems Legal authority to act as a lender Sufficient expertise and experience in lending activities Financial, technical and managerial capacity to comply with relevant federal and state laws and regulations How may grant funds be used? Grant funds may be used to help a nonprofit create a revolving loan fund for eligible individuals who own and occupy a home in an eligible rural area. The fund may be used to service individually owned household water well and decentralized wastewater systems . Terms for the loans include one percent fixed interest rate, 20-year maximum term, and $15,000 maximum loan per household. The nonprofit may also award subgrants for the same purposes to eligible individuals meeting certain conditions. Are matching funds required for the grant? No. The nonprofit must contribute at least 10 percent in order to receive priority points for applicant contributions. Matching funds may be from the non-profit applicant or a third party. Matching funds may not be in-kind. What is an eligible area? Rural areas and towns with populations of 50,000 or less - check eligible addresses Tribal lands in rural areas Colonias Note:   Homeowners seeking a loan financing for an individually owned household water well or decentralized wastewater system should contact RD one of the current grantees listed at the Contact tab. Are there any Environmental requirements associated with this grant? RUS will notify a successful applicant by an award letter accompanied by a grant agreement and multi-tier action environmental compliance agreement. The grant agreement will contain the terms and conditions for the grant; the multi-tier action environmental compliance agreement will detail the Recipient’s responsibilities in meeting the Agency’s Environmental Policies and Procedures, 7 CFR part 1b. The applicant must execute and return the agreements, accompanied by any additional items required by the award letter or grant agreement. How do we get started? Electronic applications are accepted through Grants.gov . Who can answer questions? Grant Manager at [email protected] . Staff in your local RD office.

Funding agency

USDA Rural Development
Federal agency

Tags

Agriculture & Farming Nonprofit & Community Tribal & Native Rural Development Climate & Environment Finance & Capital Access Science, Tech & Engineering (STEM) water rural rural-development
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Who can apply

Eligibility details aren't on file yet — check the agency source link in the Documents tab for the latest rules.

Geographic eligibility

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming
  • District of Columbia
Match contribution required

Applicants must contribute a portion of the project cost from non-federal sources. Confirm exact match rules with the agency before applying.

How to apply

We don't have application instructions on file yet — head straight to the official source.

Apply on agency site
Tip from our team:

Read the agency's eligibility checklist before you start — it's almost always shorter than the full NOFO and will tell you in 90 seconds whether to keep going.

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Source documents

View on agency site
Canonical NOFO, application packet, and forms
No supplemental documents yet.

Direct downloads (NOFO PDFs, application forms, FAQs) will appear here once our team attaches them. For now, the agency site has the canonical packet.

Citation details

Source systemusda-rd
Source IDrural-decentralized-water-systems-grant-program

Frequently asked questions

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