nvEPA
Addressing and Mitigating Drought with the
Drink ng Water State Revolving Fund
Communities may use the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) to address and
mitigate the impact of drought on their drinking water systems.
BACKGROUND
During any given year, drought conditions are
occurring in at least one region of the United States.
Throughout many of these regions, the frequency,
intensity, and duration of these drought events are
increasing, a pattern expected to continue shifting
outside of historical trends in the future. The start,
severity, and duration of drought for a particular area
is not necessarily disposed to forecasting. Therefore,
it is necessary to take preemptive measures when
installing, modifying, or upgrading drinking water
infrastructure within drought-sensitive areas.
The impacts a drought may have on a drinking water
system can vary. Some examples include a reduced
or lack of raw water supply, lack of distribution system
pressure, water main breaks from soil shrinkage and
land subsidence, or a loss of aquifer recharge
capability or capacity for recovery. In general, water
management practices, techniques, and equipment
that use less water will help reduce demand on
existing supplies before drought conditions even
occur, making some drought conditions more
manageable.
DWSRF ASSISTANCE
The DWSRF can provide financial assistance to publicly
owned and privately owned community water systems
and non-profit non-community water systems for
drinking water infrastructure projects. Projects must
either facilitate the system's compliance with national
primary drinking water regulations or significantly
further the health protection objectives of the Safe
Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Each of the 50 states and Puerto Rico operates its own
DWSRF program. They receive annual capitalization
grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), which they use to provide low-interest loans
and other types of assistance to water systems.
Repayments of DWSRF loans begin up to 18 months
after project completion, with loan terms up to 30
Additional EPA Drought Resources:
Drought Response and Recovery Website:
https://www.epa.aov/waterutilitvresponse/drouaht-response-and-
recoverv-water-utilities
Drought Resilience Resources:
https://www.epa.aov/water-research/drouaht-resilience-and-water-
conservation
Eligibility Handbook:
https://www.epa.gov/dwsrf/dwsrf-eliqibiiities
WaterSense
https://www.epa.gov/watersense/drouqht-watersense
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EPA OGWDW | Addressing Water System Drought with the DWSRF
years for most communities, or up to 40 years for
disadvantaged communities.
Additionally, states may use a portion of their
capitalization grant from EPA as "set-asides" to help
communities build the technical, managerial, and
financial capacities of their systems. With an emphasis
on small systems, these funds help ensure sustainable
infrastructure and public health investments.
Planning and Assessment
The DWSRF set-asides can be used to assess impacts
a drought may have on public water systems,
including, but not limited to drought monitoring,
water loss audits, leak detection studies and
purchasing leak detection equipment, pressure
optimization studies, drought contingency plans, and
water conservation plans. These activities can also be
funded through the loan fund if they are likely to
result in a capital improvement project or result in a
reduction of water demand to alleviate the need for
additional capital investment.
The DWSRF set-asides can also fund the development
of drought response plans that monitor and
recommend responses to drought impacts, develop
and implement water conservation ordinances or
regulations, and develop incentive programs or public
education programs about conservation.
Water Efficiency
In general, the DWSRF can fund water management
practices, techniques, and equipment that use less
water, which will help reduce demand on existing
supplies.
DWSRF funding can be used for water main
replacement projects that could reduce breaks and
leaks and extend the use of a water source, thereby
lessening the water system's vulnerability to drought.
Replacing other failing equipment, such as aging
pumps and storage tanks, are also eligible projects,
as well as any other general upgrades to public
drinking water infrastructure that conserve water use.
EPA 816-F-20-003 May 2021
Additionally, by purchasing products with a WaterSense
label, consumers can save money while conserving
water and energy. Water systems can use DWSRF
funding to purchase or offer rebates for water efficient
fixtures.
The DWSRF set-asides can be used to train water
systems on how to conduct water loss control audits, as
well as assist with the development of these audits.
Infrastructure projects that result from these audits
typically can be funded with the DWSRF as well.
Reliability/Redundancy
In drought-stricken areas, having secondary sources of
water will help water systems be resilient to impacts of
drought. The DWSRF can fund interconnections to other
water systems, development of new water sources,
deepening and rehabilitating wells, and new pumps for
those deeper wells.
Aquifer Recharge and Water Reuse
Prolonged drought can deplete groundwater aquifers
that many communities rely on for drinking water. The
DWSRF can fund aquifer recharge projects such as
aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) wells and new wells
and pumps to draw water from a different or deeper
zone in an aquifer. The DWSRF can also fund water
reuse and recycling projects, which can replace or offset
potable water use.
LEARN MORE ABOUT FUNDING
Water systems receive DWSRF assistance directly from
state agencies. Each state has its own application
procedure. Contact information for each state is posted
at https://www.epa.aov/dwsrf/statedwsrf-website-and-
contacts.

For more information, visit: epa.gov/dwsrf

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Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
Case Studies: Drought
How communities are using the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to address and mitigate the
impact of drought on their drinking water systems.
NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT
This project involved installing a raw water intake
pump station located adjacent to the existing water
treatment piant (WTP). The new pump station was
constructed so New London could access additional
water from Lake Konomoc and increase the safe yield
of their source to augment the supply of the system
during peak demand periods and severe drought
conditions. This is especially needed when the surface
water level in the lake is lower than the elevation of
the existing WTP intake. This project serves a
population of 26,273 people and received almost $6
million in DWSRF assistance.
TRUCKEE MEADOWS WATER AUTHORITY,
NEVADA
Truckee Meadows Water Authority received
approximately $8.9 million in DWSRF funding to
construct a high-pressure transmission main between
the Fish Springs and North Virginia water systems.
The high-pressure transmission main allowed two-
way flow between the North Virginia/Stead Booster
Pump Station and the Fish Springs water system,
allowing each to provide support to the other during
drought and other emergency conditions. This project
benefits 315,200 people.
BOYD, TEXAS
Boyd, a town of 1,382 people, received $720,000 of
DWSRF assistance to create water conservation and
drought contingency plans. These plans include
recommendations for improvements to the water
supply, treatment, pumping, storage facilities, and
distribution system to help build resilience to drought.
A OFFICE OF GROUND WATER
® AND DRINKING WATER

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EPA OGWDW | Addressing Water System Drought with the DWSRF
EPA 816-F-20-003 May 2021
CITY OF CULLMAN, ALABAMA
The City of Cullman, received $24 million in DWSRF
assistance to construct a new raw water pump station
and associated water transmission main for a city of
about 14,775 people. This project allows the
transmission of raw water from the newly constructed
Duck River Reservoir to the Cullman water treatment
facility, enabling Cullman to provide a second raw
water source during droughts or emergencies, and
thereby increasing the region's water supply to meet
demand.
PASKENTA COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
(PCSD), CALIFORNIA
PCSD's drinking water source repeatedly ran dry in the
late summer due to drought conditions. PCSD received
$500,000 in DWSRF assistance to conduct a long-term
source reliability study evaluating their best
alternatives for obtaining a reliable source of water
during drought occurances. This study included the
drilling of two test wells for a groundwater water
source and served a population of 120 people.
KERN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
This planning project served the needs of three
disadvantaged community water systems in Kern
County. The water systems had aging water mains
and wells needing repair and replacement. The Lake
of the Woods Mutual Water Company had water
shortage problems, as well as violations with the
nitrate and fluoride maximum contaminant levels
(MCLs), and the Lake of the Woods Mobile Village had
also been out of compliance with the nitrate MCL.
Groundwater levels had dropped during a drought but
remained accessible on the eastern side of the basin
serving these communities. For this reason, in addition
to the size and technical, managerial, and financial
capacity of these communities, the solution selected
was to form a regional water system.
Approximately $1 million in DWSRF assistance was
used to drill two new test wells, interconnect the
existing systems with distribution and transmission
mains, and add storage tanks and booster pumps.
This project serves a population of 4,147 people.
TOBIAS, NEBRASKA
In May 2014, the Village of Tobias's engineer
developed a limited Preliminary Engineering Report
(PER) that evaluated the Village's water system needs.
Static water levels in the Village's primary well had
dropped nearly 10 feet due to ongoing drought. The
PER recommended the village drill a new well to
establish a backup supply for the water system, as
well as to lower the pump in the existing well to
extend its operational capacity. Additionally, this
project added valves and meters and upgraded
existing well controls. This project received $315,000
in DWSRF assistance and serves a population of 106
people.
BEST PRACTICE: RUSSELL, KANSAS
The City of Russell, established a drought response
plan that includes trigger levels and water use
reduction measures. The city developed a clear but
flexible plan, including specific reduction goals and
restrictions to address current and anticipated
conditions. Between 2006 and 2018, the city declared
either a Stage 3 or 4 of drought management every
year. Having a drought response plan that clearly
defined drought triggers and response actions for
four drought stages helped their customers be
prepared, as well as enabled the city to act quickly
when droughts occurred. Drought-related planning
assessments and contingency plans can be funded by
the DWSRF. See EPA's Drought Guide for more best
practices.
For more information, visit: epa.gov/dwsrf
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OFFICE OF GROUND WATER
AND DRINKING WATER

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