EPA Announces $77.3 Million for California to Address PFAS in Drinking Water

EPA Announces $77.3 Million for California to Address PFAS in Drinking Water

May 19, 2026

San Francisco - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $77.257 million in new Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities (EC-SDC) grant funding to address PFAS and emerging contaminants in California communities that need it most. This new funding is part of a comprehensive, lifecycle-based strategy to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that underscores EPA's commitment to Making America Healthy Again by ensuring clean water for all.

"With this investment, EPA is demonstrating our commitment to the goal of every American having safe drinking water," said Acting EPA Pacific Southwest Region Administrator Michael Martucci. "Providing funding, affordable financing, and technical assistance to help California communities get PFAS out of drinking water will bring lasting positive impacts where they are needed most."

The EC-SDC grant program is a $1 billion national investment that helps communities address PFAS and other emerging contaminants. In California, $77.257 million is available for communities, drinking water systems, and private well owners to help with testing, planning, and infrastructure projects addressing PFAS and other emerging contaminants included on EPA's Contaminant Candidate Lists (e.g., manganese, perchlorate, 1,4-dioxane).

With this grant allotment, the agency has made $5 billion in EC-SDC funding available through this program over five years. More than $6.5 billion in low-interest financing is currently available through EPA's Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Loan program, which can also be used to address PFAS.

Sustained investment of this scale helps drive down the per-system cost of treatment, generates real-world performance data that better informs utility decision-making, accelerates innovation in destruction and disposal technologies, and helps mitigate PFAS across the many forms in which it appears in source water.

Additionally, EPA's new PFAS OUTreach-or PFAS OUT-initiative is accelerating progress in addressing PFAS in drinking water. This new program proactively works with communities and water systems to reduce exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) in drinking water. Recognizing that small, rural, and disadvantaged water systems often have fewer resources, PFAS OUT is specifically designed to ensure these communities are not left behind. PFAS OUT will help every drinking water system dealing with PFOA or PFOS to effectively understand the challenge and reduce exposure as soon as possible while positioning them for successful compliance with enforceable drinking water standards.

EPA's multifaceted approach to reducing exposure to PFAS in drinking water also includes two proposed rules for public comment that uphold the National Primary Drinking Water Standards PFOA and PFOS while enhancing practical implementation and correcting the Biden-Harris Administration's failure to follow the clear requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Together with EPA's parallel work to address PFAS before it enters the environment, EPA is delivering real solutions to reduce PFAS exposure for all Americans.

Find more information on the Emerging Contaminants - Small or Disadvantaged Communities grant program here.

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