RCAP programs help communities that are seeking to build, maintain or expand their water and wastewater infrastructure. We provide:

Every year, 145 RCAP specialists based in the field provide assistance to more than 2,000 communities in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The staff includes registered professional engineers, certified operators, utility finance and board-management specialists, community planners, and experts with other relevant backgrounds. Most of the communities we assist are economically disadvantaged and have populations under 2,500, and many have significant minority populations. 

 

• Office of Community Services of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
• U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water and the Office of Waste Water Management)

Structure

The Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) is a national network of nonprofit organizations working to ensure that rural and small communities throughout the United States have access to safe drinking water and sanitary wastewater disposal. The six regional RCAPs provide a variety of programs in their section of the United States to accomplish this goal, such as direct training and technical assistance, leveraging millions of dollars to assist communities develop and improve their water and wastewater systems.

The six regional partners in the network whose programs in the water and wastewater sector are done together under the umbrella of RCAP are also brought together by a national office in Washington, D.C..

 

 

National office

 

The national office engages in program management, applied research, advocacy and policy development, and public education on rural issues, especially with respect to community infrastructure. It also supports the work of the other parts of the network – the regional partners - by obtaining financial support, sharing knowledge and best practices across the network, and promoting dialog to help communities understand the relationship between the environment, public health, and economic viability. It does this by representing the partnership in rural associations, networks, regulatory committees and coalitions, along with other ways.

 

RCAP regional partners

 

Each RCAP regional partner is an autonomous organization with its own governance, staff, structure, and other sources of funding. Even the official names of some partners do not resemble the common name of Rural Community Assistance Partnership. Each partner provides an array of services that directly respond to the needs of its area. These region-specific services include affordable housing-development assistance; loans for water and wastewater infrastructure, as well as housing and business development; community and economic development; job training and placement; community-based education programs; and special programming for underserved populations. 

 

What binds the RCAP network together are the programs each regional partner has in the water and wastewater sector. This work in each region with the collaboration of the national office is done together under the name of Rural Community Assistance Partnership.

 

The history of RCAP and evolution of its programs