Water: Fed FUNDS
Water InfrastructureWater SecurityGrant & FundingFed FUNDSWhich Funding Is Right for You?Which Funding Is Right for You?
Thanks for using the "Which Funding Is Right for You?" quick screening process. For more detailed information on federal disaster funding programs, refer to the Federal Disaster Funding Programs Web page.
Please select one of the following that best describes your water/wastewater utility:
- Public Water/Wastewater Utility - any facility owned by a state or local government that performs services related to water supply, sewage collection and treatment.
- Private Non-Profit Water/Wastewater Utility - any non-governmental organization that currently has tax exemption status under sections 501(c), (d), or (e) of the Internal Revenue Code or evidence from the state that the organization is a non-profit organized or doing business under state law and performs services related to water supply, sewage collection and treatment.
- Private For-Profit Water/Wastewater Utility - any non-governmental organization that performs services related to water supply, sewage collection and treatment but is NOT granted tax exemption from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or state. A Private for profit water utility maybe operated as any of the following business models: Sole trader, Partnership (either limited or unlimited liability), Private Limited Company / LTD-limited liability, or Public Limited Company.
A tremendous amount of information is available about various federal disaster funding programs. To help you save time and effort in determining which program(s) are most appropriate for your water/wastewater utility, answer the following four questions. This simple screening will produce a printable summary report that will offer useful website links and provide tips for water/wastewater utilities to apply for funding.
Click the appropriate button to answer the question.
You have reached the end of the "Which Funding Is Right for You?" screening process. Your answers to the screening questions are shown below. Based on your responses, the Federal Disaster Funding Summary Report provides suggested disaster funding programs and tips that may be of interest to your utility.
Federal Disaster Funding Summary Report
1. You indicated that you are a public water or wastewater utility.
1. You indicated that you are a private non-profit water or wastewater utility.
1. You indicated that you are a private for-profit water or wastewater utility.
2. You indicated that you are interested in learning about funding opportunities to repair damage to your utility from a significant incident such as a Presidentially-Declared Disaster.
2. You indicated that you are not interested in learning about funding opportunities to repair damage to your utility from a significant incident such as a Presidentially-Declared Disaster.
- Consider the FEMA Public Assistance Grant (PA) Program, which may provide funding for a facility affected by a Presidentially-Declared Disaster.
- Follow this link to determine if a Presidential Disaster Declaration includes your jurisdiction: http://www.fema.gov/disasters
- For program information tailored for water/wastewater utilities, see the FEMA PA Program topics in Fed FUNDS or go directly to the FEMA PA website and FEMA PA Forms.
- The applicant (e.g., your local government that represents your interests and/or you) should attend an applicant briefing with FEMA (contact your state to determine the location/timing).
- The applicant (e.g., your local government that represents your interests and/or you) should complete a Request for Public Assistance Form within 30 days of a Presidential Disaster Declaration to be eligible for FEMA funds.
- Check out the Lessons Learned from Water/Wastewater Utilities that Participated in FEMA's PA Grant Program (PDF) (2 pp, 398K, About PDF).
- Consider the FEMA Public Assistance Grant (PA) Program, which may provide funding for a damaged facility in a Presidentially-Declared Disaster to repair/replace the facility to pre-disaster conditions.
- Follow this link to determine if a Presidential Disaster Declaration includes your jurisdiction: http://www.fema.gov/disasters.
- For program information tailored for water/wastewater utilities, see the FEMA PA Program topics in Fed FUNDS or go directly to the FEMA PA website and FEMA PA Forms.
- The applicant (e.g., your local government that represents your interests and/or you) should attend an applicant briefing with FEMA (contact your state to determine the location/timing).
- The applicant (e.g., your local government that represents your interests and/or you) should complete a Request for Public Assistance Form within 30 days of a Presidential Disaster Declaration to be eligible for FEMA funds.
- Check out the Lessons Learned from Water/Wastewater Utilities that Participated in FEMA's PA Grant Program (PDF) (2 pp, 398K).
- Consider Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster loans.
- SBA Business Physical and Economic Injury loans fund repair for damaged facilities to pre-disaster conditions caused by a federally declared disaster.
- For program information tailored for water/wastewater utilities, see the SBA Program topics in Fed FUNDS or go directly to the SBA Loan website and SBA Loan Applications.
- SBA loans will cover uninsured and under-insured physical damage. However, if your facility is in a special flood hazard area, it must have flood insurance before SBA can disburse a loan.
- Consider Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster loans.
- SBA Business Physical and Economic Injury loans fund repair for damaged facilities to pre-disaster conditions caused by a federally declared disaster.
- For program information tailored for water/wastewater utilities, see the SBA Program topics in Fed FUNDS or go directly to the SBA Loan website and SBA Loan Applications.
- SBA loans will cover uninsured and under-insured physical damage. However, if your facility is in a special flood hazard area, it must have flood insurance before SBA can disburse a loan.
- PRIOR to a disaster, assemble all documents on the state of your facility and equipment. This includes periodic photos of facilities and equipment, copies of maintenance records, and insurance policies.
- To document the damage, take photos and write a summary of the damage as soon as possible (when it is safe to do so) AFTER the disaster but PRIOR to performing any cleanup and repairs.
- Document every expense, including those for equipment (repair and replacement), employee overtime, and other emergency expenses used to protect the facility.
3. You indicated that you are interested in funding for mitigation activities that reduce disaster losses and protect life and property from future disaster damages.
3. You indicated that you are not interested in funding for mitigation activities that reduce disaster losses and protect life and property from future disaster damages.
FEMA has several Hazard Mitigation Assistance Programs. These programs provide funding for mitigation activities completed before a disaster occurs (referred to as pre-disaster mitigation measures). They also cover activities completed after a disaster to prevent reoccurring damage to a facility (referred to as post-disaster mitigation measures). Consider the following FEMA programs for mitigation grants.
For private for-profit utilities, the local government must apply for mitigation loans on your behalf.
- FEMA's Public Assistance (PA) Grant Program. This Program provides grants to repair damage to a utility caused by a Presidentially-Declared Disaster. It may also provide grants to upgrade damaged parts of a facility to mitigate possible damage from future disasters (e.g., raising replacement equipment above flood levels).
- FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. This Program provides grants for long-term hazard mitigation measures after a Presidential Disaster Declaration. The grants can be used to upgrade undamaged parts of a facility to prevent damage by future disasters.
- FEMA's Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program. This Program provides mitigation grants to upgrade a facility prior to a disaster declaration or for instances when the disaster declaration occurred more than a year ago.
- FEMA's Flood Mitigation Assistance Program. This Program provides mitigation grants to upgrade a facility to prevent flood damage if the facility is insured by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
- FEMA's Repetitive Flood Claims Program. This Program provides mitigation grants to upgrade a facility to prevent repetitive flood damage if the facility is insured by the NFIP and has already filed one or more claims to the NFIP for flood damage.
See the table "FEMA Grant Programs that Provide Mitigation Funding" for a comparison of FEMA mitigation programs and the eligibility of public, private non-profit, and private for-profit utilities. Contact your local government to begin the application process.
For more program information tailored for water/wastewater utilities, see the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Programs topic in Fed FUNDS or go directly to the FEMA Mitigation website.
4. You indicated that you are a rural utility serving a town with a population of less than 10,000.
4. You indicated that you are not a rural utility serving a town with a population of less than 10,000.
- Small, rural utilities may be eligible for the USDA Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants (ECWAG). For program information tailored for water/wastewater utilities, see the USDA ECWAG topics in Fed FUNDS or go directly to the USDA website.
- Here are some features of the Grants:
- Emergencies are not limited to drought, earthquake, flood, tornado, hurricane, disease outbreak, chemical spill, or leakage.
- Funding up to $500,000 is available to alleviate a significant decline in quantity and quality of water available. Examples are new wells, reservoirs, transmission lines, treatment plants.
- Funding under $150,000 is available for distribution waterline extensions, breaks or repairs on distribution waterlines.
- Currently because of budget cuts, funding for the USDA Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants may not be available for fiscal year 2012. In the past for certain disasters, Congress has created special appropriations that cover rural utility funding programs for repairing/reimbursing rural water utilities.
Thanks for using the "Which Funding Is Right for You?" quick screening process. For more detailed information on federal disaster funding programs, refer to the Federal Disaster Funding Programs Web page.