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<br />Stratus Consulting <br /> <br />Executive Summary <br /> <br />We also surveyed community PNPWSs about their qualitative assessment of long-term (6 to <br />20 years) funding needs. We asked them to rank their funding need in four categories of water <br />system function - supply, treatment, treated water storage, and distribution. On a 1 to 5 scale, <br />with 1 indicating very little or no long-term need and 5 indicating the highest level of long-term <br />need in terms of certainty and size ofproject, PNPWSs collectively ranked treated water storage <br />as the highest category of need (3.33). Distribution system improvements were the second <br />highest (3.17), and treatment and supply needs were tied for third highest (2.42). <br /> <br />Results from small numbers of respondents should be interpreted with caution because the <br />statistical level of confidence that the sample represents the true population of this category of <br />system is weak for small numbers. Confidence in the results shown is backed, however, by the <br />fact that it mirrors the general finding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) <br />Needs Survey; both ranked distribution system upgrade and replacement needs the highest. In <br />addition, treated water storage needs ranked higher than treatment and water supply needs in <br />both surveys. <br /> <br />Funding sources for private nonprofit water systems <br /> <br />A number of funding programs using federal or state money exist for Colorado water and <br />wastewater systems. Some of the largest state funding sources in 2006 were the State Drinking <br />Water Revolving Fund (SDWRF) and the Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Fund. <br /> <br />Although the federal EPA allows Drinking Water Revolving Fund (DWRF) capitalizations to be <br />used for private not-for-profit water systems, state statute restricts the Colorado Water Resources <br />and Power Development Authority (CWRPDA), the banker for Colorado's DWRF, to finance <br />local governmental water systems. The issue of revisiting whether or not to allow private not-for- <br />profit systems to be eligible for SDWRF funds has been addressed before. In the year 2000, the <br />CWRPDA Board concluded the Safe Drinking Water Act does not require the funding of <br />privates. The Board did approve expansion of the Planning and Design Grant list of eligible <br />activities to include reimbursement for costs associated with formation of a legal entity eligible <br />to receive DWRF funds. <br /> <br />Current funding providers able to serve private nonprofits are CDPHE's Drinking Water Grant <br />Program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, the Rural <br />Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC), the CWCB, and the Water Supply Reserve <br />Account (WSRA). These funding providers or their funding programs, the source offunds <br />(federal or state), and the main limitation of the funding source are listed in Table S.2. <br /> <br />Page S-3 <br />SCll199 <br /> <br />