Valley Water Refill Station Grant Program

Grants and partnership programs reduce reuse refill

Valley Water is excited to partner with the community through the Valley Water Refill Station Grant Program. These grants are designed to provide funding for the installation of water bottle refill stations to expand drinking water access, especially in economically disadvantaged communities or locations serving school-age children and students in Santa Clara County. With clean drinking water from these refill stations and increased use of refillable bottles, let’s do our part to help reduce plastic waste from single-use plastic water bottles.

Funding for the Valley Water Refill Station Grant Program is made possible through the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program, which Santa Clara County voters approved in November 2020.

Funding Availability

$5,000 per grant towards the purchase, installation, and maintenance of a water refill station of your choice.
We have a total of $100,000 in grant funding available for Valley Water Refill Station grants each fiscal year (July 1 to June 30). Applications are accepted on a rolling basis or until all available funds are disbursed during the fiscal year. Priority is given to project sites that serve economically disadvantaged communities and locations that serve school-age children and students in Santa Clara County.

Who is Eligible?

All applicants, except public entities and non-profit organizations, must demonstrate that the refill station will be installed in an area with public access.

Public agencies, such as special districts, cities, towns, and county agencies
Schools, community colleges or universities (public or nonprofit)
501(c)3 nonprofit organizations
Nonprofits without 501(c)3 exempt status but can demonstrate they are an affiliate of a nonprofit organization with 501(c)3 tax exempt status that acts as a fiscal sponsor.
Organized community group with an established structure that can identify an individual responsible for signing the agreement and meeting insurance requirements.
Private entity, such as a
- Private water district/agency; school, community college or university (private); or for-profit company

What are the next steps?

Ready to apply? Head on over to Fluxx to complete your registration and start your application today!

Refill station grant process and timeline

Frequently Asked Questions

It’s entirely up to the grantee which model and brand are used. Grantees are awarded $5,000 to use towards the purchase, installation, and maintenance of one refill station. How those funds are dedicated toward those things and whether you supplement this grant with other funds for those things is up to you. Please see the other resources below for a few samples of popular refill stations.

If awarded, grantees will have one year from the effective Agreement date to install their selected refill station. Grantees will have the flexibility within that one year to install the station when it’s best for them. For example, schools may schedule installation during a break when classes are not in session.

In the event the grantee is unable to complete the project within the one-year term of the Agreement effective date, the grantee will need to return any received funds back to Valley Water.

You may submit an additional application for a second refill station. However, Valley Water is committed to having diversity in its grantees and project locations and cannot guarantee there will be adequate funding to award more than one refill station grant per grantee. Priority will be given to those who do not currently have a refill station at their facility and to applicants with sites serving economically disadvantaged communities or school-age children and students.

Disadvantaged communities include any of the following:
- Low Income Households – Below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) for Santa Clara County
- Low Income Census Tracts – Census tracts where aggregated household incomes are less than 80% of the AMI for Santa Clara County. See Santa Clara County Low Income Census Tracts (Poverty Zone).
- An area defined by the California Environmental Protection Agency. See CalEPA Proposed SB 535 Disadvantaged Communities.

Learn More

Are you interested in staying in touch? Sign up for our mailing list to receive emails on future funding opportunities.

You can also schedule a meeting with staff using the following link:

Schedule a 30-minute meeting

Resources

Valley Water offers several resources to help you learn more about our Valley Water Refill Station Grant Program. For more information, please visit our resource page.