Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resilience

Background/Overview

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 Californians who currently lack access to safe drinking water receive safe and affordable drinking water as quickly as possible. The SAFER program also aims to reach sustainable operations for all of the state's drinking water systems and is a critical element for achieving the goals of safe, accessible, and affordable water for all Californians.

The program was established from the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water (SADW) Fund through Senate Bill 200 (SB200) in 2019. The Fund will provide $130 million per year that will be used to develop and implement sustainable solutions for small systems with violations of drinking water standards. The money may be spent on operations and maintenance costs, cost of consolidating with larger system, provision of replacement water, and funding for administrators to run the small systems.

What Is Included in the SAFER Program?

The SAFER Program provides assistance with interim drinking water supplies, emergency repairs, technical assistance, administrators, planning, operations and maintenance and construction projects via various funding sources. The Program is informed by the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund's Policy and the Annual Fund Expenditure Plan.

SAFER Program Chart

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General Information

  • Division of Financial Assistance Statewide and Regional SAFER Programs Excel | PDF | Espanol (Translated August 2023)

Policies/Plans/Reports

Policy for Developing the Fund Expenditure Plan

Archived Fund Expenditure Plans

Links

Contact Information

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