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Innovative Water Infrastructure Workforce Development Grant

Environmental Protection Agency · Opportunity EPA-OW-OWM-26-03

Who can apply

• Others

See Section 2 of the full announcement for eligibility information.

About this opportunity

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting applications under the authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) section 1459E to accelerate career pipelines in the water utilities sector and provide access to water utility workforce opportunities. This action advances the Administration’s priorities, including the goals of Make America Healthy Again, by focusing on building the nation’s water workforce which is critical to ensuring public health and environment protection. Consistent with the law, this action will help inform people about the role of water and wastewater utilities in their communities and increase the awareness of water utility career opportunities.The purpose of this funding opportunity is to support expanding career opportunities in the drinking water and wastewater utility sector and elevating public awareness about jobs in the water workforce. Eligible applicants under this funding opportunity are Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), nonprofit organizations, and public works departments and agencies. Eligible activities include apprenticeship and internship programs, education programs designed for elementary, secondary, and higher education students, regional industry collaborations, and training programs designed to support decentralized workforce. Efforts should aim for measurable results and clearly show tangible benefits for water systems and communities. The proposed activities support the Agency’s Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative’s Pillar 1: Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American. Examples include training individuals through an apprenticeship program and placing them into water sector jobs, training individuals for industry accreditation, and developing collaborations with community colleges, technical schools, utilities to address the water utility employment needs.

Award history — Innovative Water Infrastructure Workforce Development Program (SDWA 1459E) (Assistance Listing 66.445)

This program made about 4 new awards per year over the last five fiscal years.

New awards recorded on USAspending.gov under the federal program that funds this opportunity. FY2025 figures may still be incomplete. Environmental Protection Agency does not publish how many applications it receives, so a true success rate cannot be computed for this program — no one can honestly sell you that number.

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