Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants

The objective of the ECWAG program is to assist the residents of rural areas that have experienced a significant decline in quantity or quality of water, or in which such a decline is considered imminent, to obtain or maintain adequate quantities of water that meets the standards set by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

Eligible applicants include (1) Public bodies or governmental entities such as municipalities, counties, districts, authorities, and other political subdivisions of a State, (2) nonprofit organizations such as associations, cooperatives, and private nonprofit corporations, (3) Native American Indian tribes on Federal and State reservations and other federally recognized Indian tribes. Projects must serve rural areas, excluding any city or town having a population greater than 10,000.

The proposed projects designed to serve a rural area with a population of 10,000 or less that has a median household income of not more than 100 percent of the statewide nonmetropolitan household income and had a significant decline in quantity of water available from private individually owned wells will be given priority. Preference also will be given to proposed projects that will assist an established water system or remedy an acute shortage of quality water. The Rural Development State Director will rate applications on a point system and points received will be considered in selecting projects for funding.

Fiscal year 2025: Replace water line and appurtenances that were exposed due to excessive rainfall and flooding. The project involved boring a new 4-inch waterline beneath the river to re-establish a full-capacity, permanent crossing. Construct an emergency intake structure to prevent future intake obstructions during times of excessive precipitation. Project also involved the replacement of high service pumps and raw water pump station wet well.