42 U.S.C. § 19065 — Clean water research and technology acceleration

The Director must make competitive, merit-reviewed awards to colleges or nonprofits, including groups of them, to: support research across different fields that significantly improves our understanding of water availability, quality, and how it changes, including how human activity and a changing climate affect urban and rural water and wastewater systems, especially in low-income, underserved, and disadvantaged communities; develop, test, and roll out new technologies, systems, and other approaches to identify and solve problems with water availability, quality, and security — including by working directly with affected communities and partnering with the private sector, state, territorial, Tribal, and local governments, nonprofits, and water management professionals; and grow the number of scientists who can study and manage water and wastewater systems and conduct wastewater surveillance, through education, training, and other professional development.