How To Find Funding for Decentralized Wastewater Projects
Septic systems and other types of decentralized wastewater systems are not a low-cost investment. On top of the upfront cost of design and installation, a responsible septic system owner should be paying for regular pumping and maintenance as well as likely occasional repairs. And even then, considering that the lifespan of a septic system can range from 15 to 40 years, a homeowner who never lives on a city sewer system will likely have to pay the upfront costs of replacing a septic system at least once in their lifetimes.
In 2024, home improvement and maintenance resource HomeAdvisor.com estimates that the typical range of septic project costs is $3,484-$11,703. However, given the multitude of factors that contribute to these variable costs, many projects can go well above this range. But even “cheaper” septic projects can be prohibitively expensive for the lowest-income septic owners. In Lowndes County, Alabama, for example, many impoverished residents were forced to live with either failing septic systems or straight-pipe disposal systems that caused dangerous raw sewage backup on their properties for decades.
Thankfully, funding was made available by the Alabama Legislature in 2023 for the Alabama Department of Public Health to install septic systems in Lowndes County, following a federal Department of Justice probe that found that the state had neglected the county’s sanitation needs. But a need for other low-income households and communities across the country for funding to repair, replace, and install septic systems persists.
Most of the financial assistance available comes in the form of grants or loans. Since a grant is essentially a gift, and a loan must be repaid (usually with interest), it’s important to know which kind of assistance one is applying for and/or receiving. To be clear, the following list of grant and loan programs is a sample of what is available, and does not at all represent the only options!
Programs Available Through RCAP

The Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) is a partner organization to DecentralizedWastewater.org and our sister sites, PrivateWellClass.org and WaterOperator.org. RCAP is a national network of nonprofit partners and technical assistance providers that works to improve the quality of life in rural America. Each of the six subsidiary RCAP regional organizations has a native program or outside partnership in place that can offer funding for septic projects.
Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project (SERCAP)
Covers Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and the District of Columbia
- SERCAP is a certified Community Development Financial Institution, and can directly provide Individual Household Well and Septic Loans to eligible low-to-moderate income homeowners in rural communities of 50,000 residents or less.
- Read more and find the application »
RCAP Solutions
Covers Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands
- RCAP Solutions has partnered with SERCAP to make the SERCAP well and septic loans available to the RCAP Solutions service area as well.
- Read more and find the application »
Communities Unlimited
Covers Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas
- Communities Unlimited offers financing to rural communities and tribal nations to improve their drinking water and wastewater systems. The loans are available to local government, nonprofits organizations, and tribal nations that serve a large number of low-income customers and a population of less than 20,000.
- Read more and contact Communities Unlimited (scroll to Water & Wastewater Loans) »
Great Lakes Community Action Partnership (GLCAP)
Covers Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin
- GLCAP refers homeowners to the Household Water Well Program (funded by a USDA grant), which provides low-interest loans to rural homeowners for water well improvements, in-home water treatment, and septic systems. However, this program is not available to residents of Kentucky and West Virginia.
- Read more and contact GLCAP here »
Midwest Assistance Program (MAP)
Covers Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Montana, and Wyoming
- MAP directs residents to apply for water well or septic system funding from Water Well Trust, a national nonprofit run by the Water Systems Council.
- Read more and apply »
Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC)
Covers Hawaiʻi, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico
- RCAC has loans and grants available, funded by the USDA, for the refurbishing, replacement, or construction of a household water well or septic system.
- Read more and apply »
Resources Listed by the US EPA Septic Office

The septic systems homepage at the US Environmental Protection Agency’s website provides a trove of information for septic owners on a variety of septic-related subjects. One of the resources you can find on this page is the EPA’s list of potential funding sources for septic projects. The list is broken into sections for federal sources, state-specific sources (currently covering 30 states), sources for tribal communities, and local community funding.
Below are some highlights from the EPA’s list, but we certainly recommend looking more closely at all the relevant sections to you from the full list.
EPA Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF)
The CWRSF is a grant program run by the EPA that provides funds for low-interest loans for water infrastructure projects to all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The types of septic/decentralized wastewater treatment projects that are eligible for CWRSF include: upgrade, repair, or replacement of existing systems; installation of new systems; and septage treatment works and pumper trucks for maintaining septic systems.
Each state operates their own CWRSF program. You can learn more about eligibility and the application by contacting your state’s CWRSF representative.
EPA Environmental Finance Center Network (EFCN)
The EFCN, consisting of 29 individual environmental finance centers (EFCs), helps communities across the country access federal funding for infrastructure projects that protect public and environmental health. The network targets their assistance to state and local governments, tribes, and NGOs. See the list of all the EFCs and read more to determine if pursuing EFC funding assistance in your community may be an option.
United States Department of Agriculture
Rural Homes Loans Program
The USDA’s Rural Home Loans Program provides direct loan assistance to low and very low-income applicants. Family income determines the amount of assistance provided. While the program’s funds can be used to build or repair homes generally, they can also be used to provide water and sewage access for a property.
Single-Family Housing Repairs Loans and Grants Program
This program offers both loans and grants, which come with different stipulations. The low-interest loans are available for repairs and improvements to rural single-family homes and can reach a maximum of $20,000. The grants are available only to very low-income elderly homeowners specifically to remove health and safety hazards (old septic systems included), and can reach a maximum of $7,500.
Rural Decentralized Water Systems Grant Program
Grant funds from this program are awarded to nonprofits for the purpose of creating a revolving loan fund available to homeowners in an eligible rural area. These funds must then be used to construct, refurbish, or service household private wells and septic systems.
Other Federal Programs
On occasion, community financing programs administered by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or the US Economic Development Administration (EDA) may be able to provide funds for wastewater infrastructure projects.
EPA Clean Water Indian Set-Aside (CWISA) Grant Program
The CWISA program, administered in conjunction with the Indian Health Service (IHS), provides wastewater infrastructure funds to tribal communities and Alaska Native Villages.
US HUD Resources for Native Americans
The Indian Housing Block Grant Program grants funds for various purposes in tribal communities. Among them are housing development and assistance for housing developed under the Indian Housing Program.
Local Community Funding
Finally, local communities are sometimes able to make financial assistance for septic projects available. For example, New York’s Oneida County is currently awarding grants for the repair or replacement of failing septic systems. Contact your local government — most likely the county’s environmental or public health department — to see if there are similar local programs currently available.
If you are unsure who to contact in your community, the EPA recommends reaching out to the septic system program in your state. Find each state’s contacts here.
Find More Info at DecentralizedWastewater.org
You may be able to find more information pertinent to funding in our Documents Library at DecentralizedWastewater.org. Try searching for terms like “funding” or “revolving fund” in the keyword search.
Events listed in our event calendar may also occasionally address funding and financial assistance. For example, the upcoming EPA webinar session “WaterTA: Helping Communities Address Their Water Challenges” on September 10, 2024, will explain how communities can apply for water technical assistance from the EPA’s Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap initiative.