On July 30, 2018, Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) unveiling of $4 billion in grant funding to be put toward the rebuilding or upgrading of rural water infrastructure throughout the country.
“USDA is committed to being a strong partner to rural communities in building their futures,” Hazlett said. “All people, regardless of their zip code, need modern, reliable infrastructure to thrive, and we have found that when we address this need, many other challenges in rural places become much more manageable.”
Communities or water districts that meet the guidelines for funding can now apply directly online or through the traditional method using a USDA Rural Development state or field office.
This funding comes through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant program, which is utilized to offer funding for drinking water efforts, storm water drainage and waste disposal systems for qualifying rural communities, ordinarily those with less than 10,000 residents.
Due to the 2018 Omnibus spending bill passed by Congress, USDA has seen their funding for loans and grants grow from $1.2 billion in 2017 to $5.2 billion so far in 2018.
