Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience
Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience supports California communities and drinking water systems with urgent water needs and long-term solutions to make safe drinking water accessible and affordable.
Funder: California State Water Resources Control Board
Due Dates: Continuous (Emergency funding requests)
Funding Amounts: Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund: up to $130 million per year through 2030; no standard award size stated
Summary: SAFER supports immediate drinking water needs and sustainable, affordable solutions for California communities.
Key Information: Funding priorities and eligibility depend on the annual Fund Expenditure Plan and the proposed solution.
Description
The California State Water Resources Control Board runs SAFER through a combination of funding, technical assistance, and regulatory tools. Established alongside the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, the program aims to bring safe, accessible, and affordable drinking water to Californians who lack it and help drinking water systems operate sustainably.
Assistance can cover interim water supplies, emergency repairs, technical assistance, administrator services, planning, construction, consolidation or service extension, and operation and maintenance. The program focuses especially on failing or at-risk systems serving small, disadvantaged communities and on low-income households served by domestic wells or state small water systems. Its funding priorities and eligibility rules are set out in the annual Fund Expenditure Plan.
