Federal grant programs / Environmental Protection Agency

Reducing Lead in Drinking Water (SDWA 1459B) (66.443)

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$70.6 million
• Grant awards16
• Typical award$5.0 million
• Awarded in FY 2025$0
• Size rank913 of 1824
• Type of assistanceGrant

Key findings

• It is the 913th largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 16 largest recipients received 100% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 10 states and territories.

What the program funds

The grant program funds activities to reduce lead in drinking water in disadvantaged communities through infrastructure and/or treatment improvements or facility remediation in schools and child care facilities. The goal of the program is to address conditions that contribute to increased concentrations of lead in drinking water. Priority is given to projects that focus on reducing lead exposure in disadvantaged communities served by drinking water systems with at least one lead action level exceedance within the last three years, in schools, daycares, and/or other facilities that primarily serve children or other populations vulnerable to environmental health risks.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

Eligible applicants include community water systems; water systems located in an area governed by an Indian Tribe; non-transient non-community water systems; qualified nonprofit organizations servicing a public water system; municipalities; and state, interstate, or inter-municipal agencies. Individuals and for-profit organizations are not eligible to apply. The EPA may ask applicants to demonstrate that they are eligible for funding under this announcement. For certain competitive funding opportunities under this assistance listing, the Agency may limit eligibility to compete to a number or subset of eligible applicants consistent with the Agency's Assistance Agreement Competition Policy.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Grants and Cooperative agreements are available to support recipient’s allowable direct costs in approved scopes of work plus allowable indirect costs, in accordance with EPA policies and regulations. Funds are provided to eligible applicants to carry out projects and activities in disadvantaged communities that are needed for infrastructure and/or treatment improvements or facility remediation in schools and child care facilities. The goal of these projects is to address conditions that contribute to increased concentrations of lead in drinking water, especially in disadvantaged communities, communities with drinking water systems that have demonstrated lead action level exceedances in the preceding three years, or in schools and/or child care facilities. Assistance agreement awards under this program may involve or relate to geospatial information. Further information regarding geospatial information may be obtained by viewing the following website: Geospatial Resources at EPA. Specific uses and restrictions on funds will be described in detail in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).;

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. The program requires a non-federal cost share/match of no less than 20% of the total costs of the project. Match may be in-kind consistent with the regulations governing match requirements at 2 CFR 200 and 1500 as applicable. Matching requirements will be described in the competitive announcement.MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Deadlines

For competitive awards, deadlines will be specified in the NOFO.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

Range: $2,000,000 to $10,000,000/fiscal year; Average: $5,000,000/fiscal year.

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal Year2025: Funded projects continue to include those that emphasize reducing lead in drinking water in disadvantaged communities through infrastructure and/or treatment projects, such as lead service line replacement and corrosion control practices; and projects that emphasize reducing children’s exposure to lead in schools and child care facilities through the removal and/or replacement of lead-containing drinking water fixtures, fountains, outlets, and plumbing materials. The goal of the infrastructure and/or treatment improvements projects remains to reduce lead in drinking water in disadvantaged communities and to improve and maintain the drinking water supply and public health protection. Project Example 1: In addition to lead service line replacement, the Water System implemented a comprehensive communications strategy that included press releases, newsletters, social media, dedicated web page, and targeted community outreach/presentations, which made 7,437 contacts and reached 81,000 households with general lead education, community resources, and information about reducing lead and the grant-funded replacement program. Project Example 2: The City's lead service line replacement project decreased the risk of exposure to lead via drinking water by replacing over 1,500 “private-side” partial lead water service lines with copper in 10 census tracts across the city and provided 2,001 pitcher filters to property owners.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

State and local governments received 92% of the money, nonprofits 8.0%.

By state

9 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.