Helping Communities With The Funding Navigator
Unlocking Funds Faster Through Technical Assistance
EPIC’s Funding Navigator (FN) team works for small and under-resourced communities—over 100 so far, and more in progress—by providing rapid-response project management and technical assistance, driving access to capital for more safe, reliable, affordable, and resilient water, wastewater, and stormwater systems. Our team provides this support at no cost to the communities.
Alternatives Analysis
Asset Inventory and Mapping
Drinking Water Distribution & Treatment Remediation
Emerging Contaminants Response
Financial Auditing
Lead Service Line Inventory & Replacement
Permitting & Funding Administration
Rate Projections
Stormwater Management
Wastewater Collection & Treatment Mitigation
Water Quality Sampling & Analysis
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Our Services
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Our goal is to prepare clients to qualify for project funding. We support utilities, municipalities, Tribes, and local agencies in improving drinking water and wastewater infrastructure and meeting regulatory standards.
By listening first and acting quickly, we help communities navigate complex funding programs, access the right expertise, and turn essential water projects from vision into reality.
How We Work for Our Clients
Through localized capacity support and financing expertise, we help utilities, municipalities, Tribes, and local agencies identify and develop capital projects, meet regulatory requirements, and secure public funding to improve drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure.
Our model—assessing local capacity, soliciting proposals, and managing contracts—enables us to deliver services very efficiently. It also promotes fair pricing for communities that often lack the resources to procure and oversee contractor services on their own. Our step-by-step process adapts to each community’s unique challenges, but follows a consistent framework that enables faster access to funds and fewer project delays.
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We begin by listening to your concerns and helping to identify and prioritize needs and desired outcomes. We will also assess your eligibility for funding assistance.
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We advise on project requirements and an effective path forward. When eligible, we can fund and manage key early-stage materials, such as Preliminary Engineering Reports and other relevant assessments, to prepare competitive applications for state or federal funding.
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We evaluate funding opportunities and project requirements and work directly with your team to gather project data, utility information, and supporting documents (existing studies, finances, mapping, operational data, etc.). We then help align the project with applicable funding opportunities, financing, and regulatory requirements that best fit the community.
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We help develop a detailed scope of work to solicit engineering services and manage the contracting process. Throughout this process, we work on behalf of and collaborate with your team and the selected professionals.
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We coordinate communication among project experts (including regulatory agencies, financing authority, and consultants) and help reduce the overall workload burden of your project.
What We’re Working On
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A guide to EPIC’s technical assistance services, helping communities identify funding opportunities and move water infrastructure projects forward.
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Real-world examples of communities overcoming funding challenges to move critical water infrastructure projects forward.
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Key financial terms, conditions, definitions, and resources to help communities navigate the SRF application process.
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An innovative financing program helping Great Lakes communities invest in critical water infrastructure.
Latest Insights
About The Funding Navigator
As a national Environmental Finance Center funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and additional philanthropic support, we serve as a connector between communities, place-based partners, technical experts, and state and federal resources. Our team works as an extension of municipal and utility staff to meet their specific needs and has been recognized for the speed at which we can quickly and effectively connect some communities with technical expertise that is more specialized than what our team provides, and is necessary for the financing application process.
What Drives Us
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More than 2,000,000 Americans live without basic access to safe, reliable drinking water and sanitation.
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With 85% of water utilities staffed by only three or fewer people, many are stretched too thin to keep pace with growing infrastructure needs or explore innovative solutions.
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Between 2024 and 2033, the US will need to fill an investment gap of almost 1 trillion dollars in drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure.
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Engineering alternatives analysis and designs, environmental and state permitting, financial planning and auditing, are all required to access state and federal funds for water projects.
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Small and under-resourced communities often do not have the technical, financial, or administrative capacity to take even the first steps to access financing and funding that helps keep water safe, reliable, and affordable.
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No-cost technical assistance is available to help communities knock down barriers to accessing funds for all types of water projects, including the removal of harmful lead service lines and green infrastructure.
Why This Matters
Financing water infrastructure capital projects—especially with government funding—is complicated, and yet it’s crucial to human and environmental health, public safety, and economic prosperity. We work to quickly uncover barriers to developing and financing water infrastructure capital projects and provide targeted solutions to bolster local capacity and accelerate funding applications. We want to see small and under-resourced communities thrive, and we help connect them with the resources and investments they need for lasting water infrastructure.