Funding Opportunities for Tribal Drinking Water Programs

EPA offers a range of funding opportunities for tribes to support tribal drinking water programs.

Drinking Water Infrastructure Grant – Tribal Set Aside Program (DWIG – TSA)

Provides funding to drinking water systems to finance infrastructure improvements. Community water systems and non-profit, non-community water systems that serve a tribal population are eligible to have projects funded, in whole or in part, with DWIG-TSA funds. Learn more about the DWIG-TSA Program.

Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act Grants

The 2016 WIIN Act addresses, supports, and improves America's drinking water infrastructure. Learn More about the WIIN Act Grants.

Included in the WIIN Act are three new drinking water grants that promote public health and the protection of the environment:

Tribal Public Water System Supervision Program

Provides financial assistance to eligible states and tribes (i.e., those that have primary enforcement responsibility for the Public Water System Supervision, or PWSS, Program) for implementation and enforcement of the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act that apply to public water systems. In cases where a state or a tribe does not have a primary enforcement responsibility program, EPA is authorized to use funds that would have otherwise been made available to the state or the tribe to assist it in direct implementation of the PWSS program. Learn more about the Tribal Public Water System Supervision Program.

Underground Injection Control (UIC) Grant Program

Provides financial assistance to eligible states, territories, and tribes (i.e., those that have primary enforcement responsibility for the UIC Program) for the implementation of their UIC Program. The fundamental goal of the program, and the grants, is to help states, territories and tribes ensure that underground sources of drinking water are protected from endangering injection activities. In cases where a state or a tribe does not have a primary enforcement responsibility program, EPA is authorized to use funds that would have otherwise been made available to the state or the tribe to assist it in direct implementation of the UIC program. Learn more about the UIC Grant Program.

Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Program

Provides long-term, low-cost supplemental loans for regionally and nationally significant water infrastructure projects. The WIFIA program was established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014. The minimum project size for small communities (with a population of 25,000 or less) is $5 million. Learn more about the WIFIA Program.

Alaska Native Villages and Rural Communities Grant Program

Assists Alaska Native Villages and Alaska’s rural communities to construct new or improve existing drinking water and wastewater systems. Funds training and technical assistance to operate and maintain these systems. EPA provides grants to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, which administers the funds through its Village Safe Water Program. Learn more about the Alaska Native Villages and Rural Communities Grant Program.

U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Grant Program

Provides funding for drinking and wastewater services to underserved communities along the U.S.-Mexico border. Learn more about the U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Grant Program.