Sewage treatment plants are usually owned and maintained by local governments with various sources of grant support.
City sewers are a critical public infrastructure system that helps protect the health, safety and environmental resources of urban communities. Grants are available from federal, state and local governments that assist with everything from individual connections to large-scale capital improvements. Both homeowners and the communities that service them can benefit from certain grant programs, so they're often of interest to users and managers of city sewers.
Federal Economic Development Assistance Programs
The federal government provides grant support to local communities --- especially those with a significant financial need --- to help pay for city sewer infrastructure and other public works. An example is the Public Works, Economic Adjustment Assistance, and GCCMIF Economic Development Assistance Programs, an opportunity through the Economic Development Administration, or EDA. The EDA provides grant funds for sewer projects as a part of its Public Works and Economic Development focus area. These opportunities usually come with a local matching requirement of 50 percent or more of total costs.
Washington State Water Quality Grants
States also often provide assistance to local communities looking to improve their city sewer infrastructure. In Washington, for example, the government engages in three grant programs that help support sewer and storm water infrastructure with the intention to enhance water quality; some of these funds ultimately come from federal sources. Among the grant programs available in Washington are the Centennial Clean Water grant program, the federal Clean Water Act Section 319 Nonpoint-Source grant program and the state's Revolving Fund Loan for water quality improvements. Grants are awarded to communities on an annual funding cycle.
Rural Sewer Grants
State grants support city sewer systems in both large and small communities. An example is the Missouri Rural Sewer Grants Program, which focuses its support on wastewater systems that serve currently unsewered rural communities. The local matching requirement for the Rural Sewer Grants Program is 50 percent or more of total project costs. Rural sewer grants for small communities have also been provided by the federal government and other states such as North Carolina and New York.
Individual Grants
Certain grant programs available for city sewers are actually available to individual homeowners. Fort Lauderdale's WaterWorks Grant Program, for example, is intended to finance sewer connections by subsidizing the fee normally charged for new sewer hookups in the city. The program is only available to owners of single-family detached homes that function as their primary residence; the program isn't available for investment properties. Local governments across the nation provide assistance to low-income homeowners through initiatives that resemble Fort Lauderdale's program, including programs in Marathon, Florida, and in Olympia and Pierce counties in Washington State.
Tags: Economic Development, grant programs, Sewer Grants, Rural Sewer Grants, Assistance Programs
