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Colorado Radionuclide Abatement and Disposal Strategy
(CO-RADS)

Planning and Funding Options

This page provides an overview and directory to various tools and resources available to water systems for project planning and funding.

Funding Options

There are a number of potential sources of funds available to local governments and other community organizations to make needed improvements to water systems.  The following information details the most commonly used sources of funding.  For more specific questions related to these funding sources, please contact the administering agency.

For a comparison of all listed funding options, see the Available Funding Options memo that was provided during the March 2009, Phase IV Kick-off Meeting.

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

The Pre-Loan Planning / Design Assistance Program provides financial assistance to small governmental communities to assist with covering costs associated with the Drinking Water Revolving Fund program requirements.  The Drinking Water Revolving Fund program offers grants up to $10,000, which may be awarded for project planning activities including: preliminary engineering reports, engineering design documents, environmental assessments, technical managerial and financial capacity assessments and in some cases legal fees to convert an ineligible entity into an eligible governmental agency (i.e. converting a home owners association to a special district).

Drinking Water Revolving Fund-provides low or no interest loans to governmental agencies for the construction of water projects for public health and compliance purposes.  This includes funding for treatment upgrades, distribution line replacement, treated water storage and water meter projects.

For more information on these programs, please visit Grants and Loans Unit.

Department  of Local Affairs

There are a number of grant and loan opportunities for governmental entities through DOLA.  To review a list of funding programs and eligibility requirements, please visit Department of Local Affairs.

USDA Rural Development (RD)

Rural Development awards grants and loans to rural communities (not more than 10,000 population) for construction and replacement of water facilities.  Communities can receive a loan and grant combination, with percentages based median incomes, health hazard elimination and annual debt service charges.  The agency can assist public, non-profit entities, Indian Tribes, and homeowner associations with financing, provided no other credit is available, at reasonable rates and terms.  Funds may be used for construction, engineering, interest payments during construction, essential equipment, site acquisition, legal fees, water rights, etc.  For more information on these programs, please visit USDA RD.

Rural Community Assistance Corporation's (RCAC)

RCAC offers environmental infrastructure loans to non-profit organizations, public agencies, and tribal governments to assist systems to maintain safe reliable drinking water.  For more information on this program, please visit RCAC. 

Tools and Resources are available to help water systems assess and improve their technical, managerial, and/or financial capacity. For a comprehensive listing of these tools and resources, please visit My TMF Trainer.

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