EFCN project team in Albuquerque, NM (March 2026)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 17, 2026 – The Southwest Environmental Finance Center (SW EFC) at the University of New Mexico, is proud to announce a new cooperative agreement awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Real Water Technical Assistance (RealWaterTA) Initiative. The award totaling $7,020,000, will be used to provide technical assistance and training to improve the ability of drinking water systems to protect public health and provide service in small and rural communities across the nation.
Small water systems continue to face many of the same regulatory requirements and financing complexities as larger utilities, but with fewer staff and resources to manage them. The SW EFC, alongside the Environmental Finance Centers at Syracuse University (SU-EFC) and Wichita State University (EFC WSU), will lead the Environmental Finance Center Network (EFCN) Team, consisting of 4 EPA-designated Environmental Finance Centers (EFCs) and 5 organizations from our growing bench of partners, to continue to work with small drinking water systems to address their common challenges related to technical, managerial, and financial (TMF) capabilities and improve their ability to protect public health and the environment.
“We are so thankful for EPA’s continued commitment to helping small, rural, and tribal drinking water systems address their technical, managerial, and financial (TMF) capacity issues,” said Heather Himmelberger, Director of the Southwest Environmental Finance Center at UNM. “As national leaders in training and technical assistance, the Environmental Finance Center Network brings our traditional and innovative approaches to help water systems build TMF capacity, improve or maintain compliance, and address critical workforce challenges. We look forward to continuing our partnership with EPA on this important program.”
“More than 97% of the nation’s public water systems are classified as small, yet they operate with a fraction of the staff, budget, and technical expertise available to larger utilities,” said Tess Clark at the Environmental Finance Center at Syracuse University. “That gap is where our work lives. Every technical assistance engagement, every operator training, and every resource we deliver helps a small system stay in compliance and keep water flowing safely”.
“This EPA funding enables us to continue providing valuable, tangible support to small public water systems,” said Tonya Bronleewe, Director of the Environmental Finance Center at Wichita State University. “The positive feedback we receive from water operators reinforces the value of this work and demonstrates how technical assistance and training help communities build capacity, solve problems, and better serve their residents.”
This award builds on more than 30 years of Environmental Finance Centers supporting communities nationwide, and over a decade of partnership through the Environmental Finance Center Network to help local governments and water systems across all 50 states and territories provide safe drinking water and manage wastewater responsibly.
The EFCN draws on the strengths of a national network with diverse professional skill sets, and decades of hands-on experience working with communities and the regulatory agencies that serve them. In addition to the project leadership team of the Southwest EFC, Wichita State EFC, and Syracuse EFC, this national partnership includes:
- The Great Lakes Environmental Infrastructure Center (GLEIC) at Michigan Technological University (MTU)
- University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill EFC (UNC EFC),
- University of Maryland EFC (UMD EFC),
- California State University, Sacramento EFC (CSUS EFC),
- The Capacity Collaborative (CC),
- Moonshot Missions (MM),
- Mississippi State University Water Resources Research Institute (MWRRI)
- University of Tennessee – Knoxville Water Resources Research Center (TNWRRC),
- The Oka’ Institute at East Central University (Oka’)
The EFCN remains committed to the 8 priorities included in EPA’s “Delivering RealWaterTA” memo:
- Support systems returning to and maintaining compliance
- Prioritize water infrastructure technical assistance
- Provide scientific, engineering, and financial expertise
- Strengthen systems’ TMF capability
- Support workforce recruitment, training, and skill development
- Improve systems’ financial readiness and access to funding assistance
- Provide efficient, cost-effective assistance and recommendations to systems
- Provide results-driven and outcome focused assistance
To learn more about EPA’s latest investments in Training and Technical Assistance for Small Systems, visit the following:
About the Environmental About the Environmental Finance Center Network
The Environmental Finance Center Network (EFCN) is a national collaboration of non-profit and university-based organizations creating innovative solutions to the difficult issues that small systems face, including how to deliver safe, reliable drinking water services. The EFCN works collectively and independently to address these issues across the entire U.S., including the 5 territories and the Navajo Nation. By partnering with the public and private sectors, the EFCN delivers direct technical assistance, training, and practical resources that support returning to and maintaining compliance, improving infrastructure, and increasing systems’ TMF capabilities while improving financial readiness and access to funding.