The Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience Program (SAFER)

State Water Resources Control Board · State of California

At a glance

The Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience Program (SAFER) is an open California state grant opportunity from the State Water Resources Control Board (State of California). Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis. Applicant types listed as eligible include nonprofit, public agency and tribal government. It is listed on the California Grants Portal. Cost sharing is not required.

Summary assembled from the official notice's fields. The official notice governs.

Key facts

Opened: Jun 8, 2020
Close date: Ongoing
Award floor: Not specified
Award ceiling: Not specified
Est. total funding: Not specified
Expected awards: Not specified
Matching funds: Not required
Funding instrument: Grant

Program details (as published on the California Grants Portal)

Type: Grant
Funding source: Federal and State — Safe and Affordable Drinking Water (SADW) Fund
Matching funds: Not Required
Funding method: Reimbursement(s)
Estimated number of awards: Dependant on number of submissions received, application process, etc.
Estimated award amounts: Dependant on number of submissions received, application process, etc.
Award period: 4 years
Expected award announcement: Ongoing
Letter of intent: Required
Geography: Projects funded by the SAFER Program using GGRF monies will either facilitate reductions of greenhouse gas emissions or improve climate change adaptation and resiliency of GGRF Disadvantaged Communities (DACs), GGRF Low-Income Households, or GGRF Low-Income Communities.
How to submit: Online: https://faast.waterboards.ca.gov/
Latest change note: Updated funding source to only show Safe and Affordable Drinking Water (SADW) Fund. Updated Total Estimated Available Funding:$130 Million.

Who can apply

Applicant categories as listed on the California Grants Portal. GrantsJunction maps them to detailed applicant types for search and matching.

Nonprofit
Public Agency
Tribal Government

Additional information on eligibility (from the listing)

Eligible recipients include public agencies, nonprofit organizations, public utilities, mutual water companies, California Native American Tribes, administrators, and groundwater sustainability agencies. Funding provided to a public utility that is regulated by the Public Utilities Commission or a mutual water company must have a clear and definite public purpose and benefit the customers of the water systems and not the investors/shareholders.

Can your organization apply?

A quick check against the listed applicant types — other requirements in the notice still apply.

Based on the published notice. Review the official notice for complete eligibility requirements.

What it funds

Purpose and description as published on the California Grants Portal.

Purpose

The Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience Program (SAFER) is a set of tools, funding sources, and regulatory authorities designed to ensure that one million Californians who currently lack safe drinking water receive safe & affordable drinking water as quickly as possible. The SAFER Program’s goal is to provide safe drinking water in every California community, for every Californian.

Description

In 2019, Senate Bill 200 (SB200) established the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water (SADW) Fund to address funding gaps and provide solutions to water systems, especially those serving DACs, to address both their short- and long-term drinking water needs. The SADW Fund is one of several funds that are part of the larger SAFER Program. Complementary funding sources administered by the State Water Board’s Division of Financial Assistance for drinking water projects include: General Fund allocations, the Cleanup and Abatement Account, Proposition 68 Drinking Water, Proposition 1 and Proposition 68 Groundwater, and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), which offers repayable, low-interest financing and loans with partial or complete principal forgiveness. Up to $130 million per year will be available from the SADW Fund for ten years (starting with Fiscal Year 2020-21) for local assistance and state operations. The amount available from complementary funding sources varies each year. The priority uses of the SADW Fund include: 1) addressing any emergency or urgent funding needs, where other emergency funds are not available and a critical water shortage or outage could occur without support from the Fund; 2) addressing community water systems (CWSs) and school water systems out of compliance with primary health standards, focusing on small Disadvantaged Communities (DACs); 3) accelerating consolidations for systems out of compliance, at-risk systems, as well as state smalls and domestic wells, focusing on small DACs; 4) providing interim solutions and initiating planning efforts for long-term solutions for state smalls and domestic wells with source water above a primary maximum contaminant level (MCL). Anticipated expenditures of the SADW Fund will be consistent with the priorities and will be used in conjunction with other available complementary funding available in the larger SAFER Program to address funding gaps. Priorities for the complementary funding sources part of the larger SAFER Program generally align with the priorities of the SADW Fund.

Program page on the agency site ↗

How to apply

0 of 9 done · progress saved in this browser

Read the program guidelinesThe agency's solicitation or guidelines set eligibility details, scoring criteria and required documents. Open ↗
Confirm eligibility and fitCheck your organization type and location (see Geography above).
Submit the letter of intentThis program asks for a letter of intent before the full application; check the guidelines for its due date.
Find out how to submitOnline: https://faast.waterboards.ca.gov/ Open ↗
Request letters of support and partner commitmentsPartners need time to write and sign letters; ask early.
Finish a full draft of the application and budgetFollow the guidelines' format exactly; state programs often require specific forms and attachments.
Ask the program contact any questions earlyDFA-OSWS@waterboards.ca.gov Open ↗
Internal review and sign-offLeave time for leadership or board approval and a final proofread.
Submit while funds remainSubmit a few days early and keep your submission confirmation.

Past applications & awards

Historical data · not a prediction

Reported by the agency for this listing

Fiscal year 2025–2617 applications · 17 awards
Fiscal year 2024–2537 applications · 37 awards
Fiscal year 2023–2431 applications · 31 awards
Fiscal year 2022–2321 applications · 21 awards
Fiscal year 2021–2228 applications · 28 awards
Fiscal year 2020–2118 applications · 18 awards

Counts as published on the California Grants Portal. Award counts can read zero until decisions are announced.

Awards published: 89
Total awarded: $217,540,683
Median award: $463,140 calculated
Smallest – largest: $17,408 – $21,671,724

Recipients by type: Public Agency (49), Business (33), Nonprofit (5), Tribal Government (2)

Areas served: Sonoma County (14), Tulare County (13), Kern County (12), Fresno County (10), Statewide (7), Sacramento County (6), Riverside County (6), San Diego County (5), Madera County (5), Merced County (5), Stanislaus County (5), Inyo County (5)

Largest awards to organizations

East Niles Community Services DistrictNorth Weedpatch Hwy Water System Consolidation Project$21,671,724 · FY 2022–23
GHD Inc.Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience Drinking Water Technical Assistance Program$17,999,924 · FY 2022–23
Self-Help EnterprisesRegional Private Domestic Water Well Abandonment, Repair, Replacement & Connection Program$15,153,253 · FY 2022–23
Provost & Pritchard Engineering Group, Inc.Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience Drinking Water Technical Assistance Program$14,318,470 · FY 2022–23
Stantec Consulting Services, Inc.Administrator Master Agreement$10,000,000 · FY 2023–24
Stantec Consulting Services, IncSafe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience Drinking Water Technical Assistance Program$10,000,000 · FY 2022–23
Oceano Community Services DistrictKenMar Gardens, Halcyon Water System, Halcyon Estates & Grande Mobile Manor Consolidation Project$9,427,000 · FY 2024–25
Community Water CenterCommunity-Driven Water Solutions in the San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast$8,999,994 · FY 2023–24
McFarland, City ofCity of McFarland Water System Improvement & Treatment Project Phase 1$8,532,402 · FY 2024–25
Golden State Water Company - Robbins SystemRobbins System - New Well and Arsenic Removal Treatment$8,000,000 · FY 2024–25

Source: California Grants Portal grant award data. Awards to individuals are counted but not named. Past awards show who was funded; they do not predict future decisions.

Program contact (as published)

DFA-OSWS@waterboards.ca.gov
1-916-327-9978

Quick answers

Who is eligible to apply for “The Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience Program (SAFER)”?

The official listing names these applicant types as eligible: Nonprofit, Public Agency and Tribal Government. It adds: “Eligible recipients include public agencies, nonprofit organizations, public utilities, mutual water companies, California Native American Tribes, administrators, and groundwater sustainability agencies. Funding provided to a public utility that is regulated by the Public Utiliti…” Additional restrictions may apply; review the full guidelines.

How do I apply for “The Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience Program (SAFER)”?

Applications go directly to State Water Resources Control Board, not through GrantsJunction. Submission: online at https://faast.waterboards.ca.gov/. Read the program guidelines on the agency's site first; state programs set their own forms and registration requirements.

Other open California state opportunities, matched on agency, categories and wording.

OpenState of California