Available in early 2026, a new Water and Sewer Treatment Facilities Grant Program will help improve water and sewer infrastructure throughout the state. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Division (ANRD) will administer the program. Approximately $25 million will be available for “shovel-ready” projects annually for the next three years.
The program is a result of the passage of Act 812 during the 2025 legislative session. The Act noted that there is a “dire need to protect public health and safety in Arkansas by replacing water and sewer lines that are in disrepair and by providing new access to clean water systems to other citizens.” The full text of the Act, which will expire at the end of five years, can be read at armuni.org/Act812.
Eighty percent of the funding is designated by Act 812 for projects in cities of the first and second class with populations over 1,200 or rural water and wastewater systems serving 1,200 customers or more. Twenty percent of the funding is designated for incorporated towns and cities of the second class with a population under 1,200 or rural water and wastewater systems serving fewer than 1,200 customers.
Act 812 further specifies that the funding is for “shovel-ready” projects, however the Act does not provide a definition for such. Wikipedia indicates that it “is where planning and engineering is advanced enough that—with sufficient funding—construction can begin within a very short time.” In keeping with this, some grant programs consider a project to be shovel-ready when the full engineering and design phases have been completed and the project is totally ready to be bid. Other grant programs consider a project to be shovel-ready when the project has been identified and an engineering cost estimate performed. The Act does require that the projects begin within one year of the grant award date. We will update you when ANRD provides their definition.
What does this mean for your city/town as a prospective applicant? It means your city/town should begin working now to get any potential water and sewer infrastructure projects as shovel-ready as possible to be more competitive.
Rules and regulations, including the definition of shovel-ready and match or cost share requirements are expected to be released by ANRD in early 2026 once the rulemaking process is complete. The League will provide more detailed information on the project priorities, eligibility criteria and match/cost-share requirements when it becomes available. The ANRD will announce the application period for the funding.
For more information, please contact Senior Grants Counsel Caran Curry at [email protected] or Grants and Legal Assistant Dylan McLeod at [email protected].
