Tribal Drinking Water

Tribal Drinking Water

The State Water Board recognizes the sovereignty of California Native American tribes and understands that tribes face unique challenges in providing clean, safe, and affordable drinking water to their communities. Although federally regulated tribal water systems are regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency and not by the State Water Board, there may be gaps that the Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience (SAFER) drinking water program could support.

How Tribes can Benefit from SAFER

California tribes can apply for funding to support the following short-and-long term solutions:

  1. Emergency drinking water (e.g., bottled water or hauled water)
  2. Temporary connection to safe drinking water sources
  3. Point-of-use or point-of-entry treatment systems
  4. Technical assistance with planning, budgets, and review of proposed project alternatives
  5. Compliance audits and troubleshooting to address permit violations or operations
  6. Assistance with community outreach, awareness, and education
  7. Training and developing technical and managerial staff
  8. Drinking water infrastructure improvements and upgrades 
  9. Consolidation (e.g., linking smaller systems into larger ones)
  10. Operations and maintenance funding

How to Apply

Applications for SAFER funding are accepted on a rolling, ongoing basis. There is no deadline to apply, and it is a non-competitive funding program. Here is how to request assistance:

  1. Contact Tribal Liaison at tribal-liaison@waterboards.ca.gov or (916) 341-5501 to express interest.
  2. Meet with SAFER staff to discuss tribe's drinking water needs.
  3. Tribe will be provided with information to apply directly and/or connected with technical assistance to support application process.
  4. If there is an urgent drinking water emergency, please state this in the email or call immediately.

Announcements

The table below illustrates the current funding agreements in place which support tribal drinking water and wastewater projects.

Tribal Supporting Funding Agreements

Date Community Name Type of Assistance Project Type Amount
9/2/2014 Yurok Tribe: Bottled Water Program Bottled Water Drinking Water $62,234
1/10/2017 Big Sandy Rancheria of Mono Indians (DW) Technical Assistance Drinking Water $9,149
1/10/2017 Big Sandy Rancheria of Mono Indians (WW) Technical Assistance Wastewater $8,929
1/12/2017 Round Valley Indian Tribes of the Round Valley Reservation Technical Assistance Drinking Water $11,496
1/31/2017 Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District Technical Assistance Drinking Water $38,780
4/14/2017 Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians Technical Assistance Drinking Water $6,575
4/17/2017 Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Bishop Community of the Bishop Colony (DW) Technical Assistance Drinking Water $56,210
6/22/2017 Pit River XL Rancheria Technical Assistance Drinking Water $5,009
6/22/2017 San Pasqual Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of CA (DW-A) Technical Assistance Drinking Water $8,086
6/23/2017 Chemehuevi Indian Tribe of the Chemehuevi Reservation, California Technical Assistance Drinking Water $3,908
7/20/2017 Fort Bidwell Reservation Technical Assistance Drinking Water $6,250
10/6/2017 Cold Springs Rancheria Technical Assistance Drinking Water $1,490
10/6/2017 Tule River Indian Reservation Technical Assistance Drinking Water $4,976
10/6/2017 North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California Technical Assistance Drinking Water $2,175
7/5/2018 Tolowa Dee-ni Nation Planning Wastewater $419,530
8/9/2018 Trinidad Rancheria Construction Stormwater $1,215,550
3/22/2019 Redwood Valley Rancheria Technical Assistance Drinking Water $4,114
8/22/2019 Big Sandy Rancheria of Western Mono Indians of California Planning Wastewater $416,162
10/1/2019 Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District Planning Wastewater $386,200
3/18/2020 Indian Health Service Construction Drinking Water $289,490
5/11/2020 Morongo Band of Mission Indians Technical Assistance Drinking Water $2,389
7/2/2020 Los Coyotes Band of Indians Technical Assistance Drinking Water $2,902
2/25/2021 Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians of the Big Valley Rancheria (DW) Technical Assistance Drinking Water $12,295
6/10/2021 Oasis Mobile Home Park Hauled Water Drinking Water $66,279
8/9/2021 Ione Band of the Miwok Indians Technical Assistance Drinking Water $311,341
9/30/2021 Tule River Indian Reservation Technical Assistance Drinking Water $84,836
9/30/2022 Oasis Mobile Home Park Bottled Water Drinking Water $144,276
6/13/2023 Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe Operations and Maintenance Drinking Water $158,315

  Additional Information

 

Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF)
  • Provides low-cost financing for a variety of water quality projects.
  • Capable of financing projects from <$1 million to >$100 million.
Domestic Wells and State Small Water Systems
  • Supports state small water systems, domestic wells, and other self-supplied communities.
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF)
  • Finances the cost of drinking water infrastructure projects needed to achieve or maintain compliance with Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requirements for public water systems.
Drought Response 
Funding
  • Supports drought-related urgent drinking water needs and long-term resilience planning and implementation.
Office of Sustainable Water Solutions Small Community Funding Program
  • For small, disadvantaged communities and small severely disadvantaged communities.
  • Provides low-interest loans and other financing mechanisms, such as grants or principal forgiveness for the planning, design and construction of drinking water infrastructure projects, including treatment systems, distribution systems, interconnections, consolidations, pipeline extensions, water sources, and water meters.
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Funding
  • Available for technical and financial assistance to drinking water systems to address PFAS in their water drinking water supply.
Stormwater 
  • Supports stormwater and dry weather runoff projects that best advance the Water Board's policy goals of improving water quality and realizing multiple benefits from the use of storm water and dry weather runoff as a resource.
Technical Assistance
  • For small, disadvantaged, communities (DACs).
  • To develop, fund, and implement eligible activities that support drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, or groundwater needs.
  • Supports coordination and development of capital improvement projects, facilitation of operation and maintenance, engineering and environmental analysis, legal assistance, leak detection/water audits, compliance audits, financial analysis, technical managerial and financial (TMF) assessments, and board or operator training.
Wastewater
  • Supports strategies to assist small and/or disadvantaged communities with wastewater needs.
Supplemental Environmental Projects
  • Supports projects included as part of a settlement for environmental violations.
CalEPA Environmental Justice Action Grants
  • Assists with addressing environmental justice issues in areas disproportionately affected by environmental pollution and hazard.

  Stay informed

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