The National Decentralized Water Resources Capacity Development Project (NDWRCDP) was established to improve the capacity of electric utilities, water and wastewater utilities, municipalities, engineers, contractors, regulators and other public and private entities to respond to the increasing complexities of, and expanding need for decentralized wastewater and stormwater systems. 

The NDWRCDP achieves this primarily through identification and support of research and development projects that address critical knowledge and information gaps in the decentralized wastewater and stormwater treatment fields. 

Projects sponsored by the NDWRCDP to date include research on environmental science, engineering and socio-economic issues; development of new methodologies, practical decision-support tools, and improved regulatory and management approaches; and development of educational materials designed to strengthen the foundations of training and practice in the onsite/decentralized wastewater and stormwater treatment fields.