Water System Capacity

Water system capacity is the technical, managerial, and financial capability of a water system to achieve and maintain compliance with drinking water standards and consistently provide safe drinking water.

What is Capacity Development?

Capacity development is a fundamental component of the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments. The SDWA Amendments provide a framework for states and water systems to work together to protect public health. Every state has developed a Capacity Development Program to assist public water systems in building Technical, Managerial, and Financial (TMF) capacity.

Any water system can implement capacity development activities to increase their TMF capacity. Small systems can especially benefit from capacity development. The Oregon Health Authority is committed to helping small water systems provide safe drinking water through publications, training, and technical and financial assistance.

Local officials and consumers play an important role in helping small water systems meet regulatory requirements and protect public health. Besides protecting public health, communities that support their water systems are making long-term investments in sustainable communities and economic well-being.

A venn diagram with Technical Capacity, Managerial Capacity, and Financial Capacity

Technical Capacity

Technical capacity refers to the physical and operational ability of a water system. This includes assessing and assuring the adequacy of source water and physical infrastructure as well as the technical knowledge and ability of system personnel to properly operate and maintain the system.

Explore the menu on the left of this page to find technical resources available on the Drinking Water website.
Oregon’s Circuit Rider Program funded through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund provides on-site technical services for community water systems serving populations under 10,000, as well as not-for-profit transient and non-transient water systems. For these water systems, services are free.

Managerial Capacity

Managerial capacity refers to the institutional and administrative ability of a water system. It is the ability of system decision makers to conduct necessary activities such as staffing, planning, maintaining accountability and interacting with customers and regulatory agencies.

Financial Capacity

Financial capacity refers to the ability of a water system to acquire and manage sufficient financial resources. This involves generating sufficient revenue, maintaining credit worthiness and managing water system funds through budgeting, accounting, and other methods of fiscal control.

Visit the Financial Capacity page for more information and related resources.

Tools and Resources

Visit our Capacity Development Tools and Resources page for more information and resources.

Newly featured asset management resources:

Asset Management IQ: This tool helps one establish the baseline for asset management and then can measure improvement over time.
Asset Management Tool AMKAN: This AM tool is easy to work with especially for small systems.
Integrated Green/Gray Asset Management Framework: This is a completely on-line tool that helps systems walk throught the asset management process if they only have gray assets, only green, or a combination of green and gray.

Training Opportunities

Visit our Training Opportunities page for free webinar and classroom trainings.

Posted Reports

Federal Safe Drinking Water Act Capacity Development Strategy State Fiscal Years 2018–2020 Report to the Governor.

Water System Capacity

Tools and Resources

Training Opportunities

Posted Reports

Key Resources