Source Water Assessment (SWA) and Protection
Program Fact Sheet Use of DWSRF Set-Asides
Source water assessments and protection measures are eligible uses of the Drinking Water State
Revolving Fund (DWSRF) set-asides. States can set-side up to 15 % of their annual capitalization grant
for a mixture of source water related local assistance activities and can allot up to 10 % for any one
activity. All States have taken set aside funds for completing source water assessments and many have
taken additional funds for protection activities.
•	Source water assessments: States are required to do source water assessments for all public water
systems by 2003. States were allowed a one-time only set-aside of 10% from the 1997 DWSRF
grant allocation for this purpose, with four years to obligate the funds. All states and Puerto Rico
reserved funds for their assessment program ($113 million). The District of Columbia received
assistance from EPA. Forty-two states took the entire 10% available. For 14 states, this was the
only source water set aside taken.
•	Section 1452(k) of the SDWA provides for States to use up to 15% of their DWSRF capitalization
grant for any of four local assistance activities related to source water protection. The activities
and the amounts reserved from FY 1997 through FY 2000 DWSRF grants that have been awarded
follow:
Activity
#of
states
Dollars
% of all
grants
loans to public water systems for
acquisition of land or conservation
easements to protect source water
10
$10.5M
0.41%
loans to community water systems for
voluntary, incentive-based source water
protection programs or source water
petition programs
9
$4.0M
0.16%
delineation and assessment of source
water protection areas (FY 1997 funds
only)
50
$112.9M
4.35%
implementation of wellhead protection
programs
26
$26.1M
1.01%
•	Section 1452(g)(2)(B) permits a state to use up to 10% of its allotment to administer a source
water protection program (as one of four activities eligible under the set-aside).
•	States have great flexibility for using these funds. Implementation of a source water protection
program can include assisting local communities, establishing a broad coordination effort across
the state government, or coordination of federal agency funding to assist communities.
•	States have reserved approximately $20 million to support this effort, (-0.8% of all grants).
Distribution by state of DWSRF Set a Sides for Protection Activities

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A = ASSESSMENTS
L = LAND ACQUISITION
P = PROGRAMS
M = MEASURES
W = WELLHEAD
A: PR, SC, SD, WY, CA, FL, IL, IN, KS, LA, MS, NY, ND
A + L: IA, NE
A + P: AL, MO, NJ, RI, TX, UT, WA, MT
A + M:
A + W: AK, AR, CO, HI, ID, KY, MN, OH, OK, OR, TN, WI
A + L + P: VT
A + L + M: VA
A + M +W: CT
A + P + W: GA, MA, MI, NV, NC, PA
A+L+P+W: NH
A+L+M+W: AZ
A+L+P+M+W: DE, ME, MD, NM

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