Rural Community Development (RCD)
Fact Sheet
What We Do
The Rural Community Development program (RCD) is a federal discretionary grant program that works with regional and tribal organizations to manage safe water systems by providing training and technical assistance (T/TA) to very small, low-income, rural communities to develop and manage affordable water and wastewater treatment facilities.
Who We Serve
RCD serves very small communities in sparsely populated areas, many of which have populations under 2,500, and are made up predominately of residents with low income who lack safe water and wastewater treatment services and often even indoor plumbing.
2021 Highlights
$10M
Was appropriated to RCD
13,793
Residents have gained access to safe drinking water
11,911
Residents connected to sanitary sewer systems
Advancing Equity
Of RCD projects served communities in designated persistent poverty or high poverty areas
Of grant dollars were invested in designated persistent poverty or high poverty areas
Rural Water System Advancements
Water systems have built monetary reserves or become financially sustainable, creating long-term access to clean water
Systems were rehabilitated and/or expanded, preserving and adding community water and wastewater facilities
Violations/non-compliance elements were resolved to improve overall compliance with applicable laws and regulations
Certifications were obtained to improve technical capacity and strengthen compliance
Eligible Applicants
Multi-state, regional, private, non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations that provide training and technical assistance to small, low-income, rural, and tribal communities concerning their community facility needs.
Program Highlights
RCD is the only federal program that builds community capacity through Regional Training and Technical Assistance grants and Tribal Training and Technical Assistance grants. These efforts help create and maintain safe and affordable water and wastewater systems for the nation’s unincorporated areas and the lowest income communities, including tribal areas. RCD grant recipients:
- Help community members identify and address water and wastewater related issues, including infrastructure and accessibility needs;
- Increase access for families with low incomes to water supply and waste disposal services;
- Train water operators to ensure water systems comply with federal regulations;
- Utilize technical assistance to leverage additional public and private resources; and
- Help communities establish financial stability and financial reserves to maintain water delivery and wastewater disposal systems.
*The presented data for fiscal 2021 should be considered preliminary pending final data validation.
Rural Community Development Program Office of Community Services (202) 401-5711 OCSgrants@acf.hhs.gov