The main goal of NCRCAP is to help low-income communities to have full access to water, waste and housing. More than $40 million have been invested to develop a good environment for those communities, to improve water access, wastewater facilities and housing infrastructure. What this association notice is that rural communities sometimes live in a risky way due to non-potable water consumption, inadequate wastewater treatment and economic, technical, political problems.

All the aspects of assistance are considered by NCRCAP, such as technical and administrative ones. All the jobs are done with residents and community groups, other than local officials, to better achieve the goals.

What are the activities NCRCAP staff members do to help rural communities in North Carolina?

Those are several and can include:

• help form and sustain grassroots
• coordinating meetings of the community
• assistance for professionals, such as engineers
• help in forming legal entities
• solving special needs
• improving community organizations, which is essential for several aspects of daily life
• presenting at public hearings
• identifying new grant and loan resources and applicate for them
• promote intergovernmental cooperation if and when necessary
• acting as a liaison between local government, funding agencies and local people.

Some of the community programs NCRCAP have done in the past interested Maple Hill and Cranberry. The first one is a little town in Pender County, NC, where residents have lived with public health risks due to failing wastewater pipes and septic systems. The association, in coordination with local community and Pender County government found a solution in the installation of a new and innovative wastewater system which improved the quality of life of Maple Hill residents. The second one, Cranberry, is a very small town in Avery County, NC, with huge problems of water access. The solution found is the one to connect Cranberry plumbing connection to the water line.