Small, tribal, and non-community water systems often face urgent drinking water quality challenges with limited staff capacity, aging or failing infrastructure, high per-household costs, and complex regulatory requirements. For systems serving populations of 1,000 or fewer, moving from a recognized water quality concern to a sustainable treatment solution requires more than selecting the right technology; it requires a coordinated roadmap that aligns technical feasibility, community support, affordability, environmental compliance, funding strategy, and long-term maintenance.
Presenter Kristina Gillespie-Jaques of Great West Engineering will walk participants through the funding pathways and technical assistance resources that can help small, tribal, and non-community water systems advance drinking water treatment solutions, including point-of-use, point-of-entry, and other appropriate approaches. Key steps for documenting system conditions, evaluating feasible alternatives, clarifying ownership and access needs, completing environmental review requirements, building public understanding and support, and selecting appropriate project delivery methods will be discussed.
Attendees will leave with a practical roadmap for turning water quality challenges into fundable, implementation-ready projects. The session will also highlight technical assistance providers, including Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP), Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC), the National Rural Water Association (NRWA), state rural water associations, and Environmental Finance Centers, that can help communities overcome capacity limitations, strengthen funding pursuits, and move sustainable water quality solutions toward implementation.
Key Takeaways
- Recognize the water quality, capacity, infrastructure, regulatory, and affordability challenges that can keep small, tribal, and non-community water systems from advancing needed treatment projects.
- Understand the steps for turning a drinking water quality concern into a fundable, implementation-ready project.
- Identify how technical feasibility, ownership, access, environmental review, community support, affordability, and long-term operations influence project success.
- Explore funding pathways and delivery approaches that can support point-of-use, point-of-entry, and other appropriate drinking water treatment solutions.
- Learn how technical assistance providers and partner organizations can help communities build capacity, strengthen funding pursuits, and move projects toward implementation.
Cost:
Free for WQA members
$89 for non-members
Register:
https://my.wqa.org/merchandise?id=91158d72-b17f-f111-9b48-7c1e5297dbf6
(wqa.org login is required)
About the Presenter:
Kristina Gillespie-Jaques serves as the Infrastructure Funding Advisor for Great West Engineering, leveraging her expertise to aid municipal, tribal, and nonprofit utilities to diagnose capacity issues and develop funding strategies to shoulder project cost burdens. She implements these strategies to engage in federal, state, and local policy spheres to advocate for resources on behalf of communities. To date, Kristina has procured over $500 million in funding for communities.