Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Grant: Small, Underserved, and Disadvantaged Communities Grant Program

Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Grant: Small, Underserved, and Disadvantaged Communities Grant Program

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Last Updated: December 19, 2025

Summary

The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Grant aims to support public water systems in small, underserved, and disadvantaged communities. This initiative provides funding for essential drinking water projects to ensure compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). By addressing infrastructure needs and enhancing community capacity, the program seeks to improve public health and environmental protection in vulnerable areas. Projects are expected to be completed within three years.

Overview

About DEP A national leader. A balanced approach. A commitment to be guided by science. That is the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. For over 50 years, DEP has made New Jersey a stronger and fairer state by protecting our environment and public health. With hard work, exceptional knowledge and expertise, the DEP’s staff has made the agency an unfailing guardian of New Jersey’s precious natural and historic resources. The DEP was established on April 22, 1970 – America’s first official Earth Day. Today, DEP employees in dozens of programs continue to advance innovative strategies to safeguard and enhance New Jersey’s air, water and land, and the health of its residents. Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Grant: Small, Underserved, and Disadvantaged Communities Grant Program PURPOSE OF FUNDING To help public water systems in small, underserved, and disadvantaged communities meet and comply with SDWA drinking water regulations by providing funding for drinking water projects and activities. It is anticipated that project/budget periods will be no more than three years. In addition to taking place in a qualifying community, grant funding must be used on projects that will help the community meet and comply with SDWA regulations through infrastructure work, technical, managerial, and financial capacity building activities, or activities necessary for a state to respond to a contaminant.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Projects resulting from SUDC grant funding must take place in a community that is underserved, small and disadvantaged, as defined by SDWA 1459A.A community is considered ‘underserved’ when it meets at least one of the following criteria:The community does not have household drinking water or wastewater services.The community is served by a public water system that violates or exceeds any Maximum Contaminant Level, treatment technique, or action level.A community is considered ‘small and disadvantaged’ when it meets at least one of the following criteria:The respective state’s affordability criteria determines that the community is disadvantaged or may become disadvantaged.The community has a population of less than 10,000 individuals and does not have the capacity to incur debt sufficient to finance a project or activity.Examples of qualifying project activities include, but are not limited to, the following:TreatmentTransmission and DistributionSourceStorageCreation of new systemsConsolidationHousehold water quality testing, including for unregulated contaminantsProviding households access to drinking water servicesAssistance to increase technical, managerial, and financial capacityDrinking water contamination response efforts.