General Instructions for Submitting Clean Water SRF Data for the

National Information Management System (NIMS)

Northbridge is providing contractor support for this effort and may be contacted to answer any 

questions that you have on your NIMS submission. You can contact Emily Horn at 781-343-4101

or ehorn@nbenvironmental.com.

Collection of CWSRF Data

1. Total (2015 Total) - Submit data for your state covering all CWSRF activity for

July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015. Data may also be entered for reporting year 2014 to

correct previously submitted data. If you need to revise data for 1988 through 2013, please

contact Northbridge to discuss your situation and obtain instructions on how to revise earlier

data. All data must be submitted on the July through June fiscal year basis. If a state’s fiscal 

year differs from the July through June cycle, the data must be converted to this basis.

2. Reporting Period - All data must reflect annual activity during the year, not cumulative

activity from the beginning of the program. The only exception is that the leveraged bond debt

service reserve amount is reported as the balance as of June 30 of each year.

3. Reporting Basis - All financial data, such as loan disbursements and principal repayments,

should be reported on a cash basis, which means actual cash expended/disbursed or received.

Significant accrued financial activity should not be reported as part of this effort.

Submittal of CWSRF Data by COB September 25, 2015

(Data must be submitted in an electronic format through the online data entry system.)

Using the Online Data Entry System

The online system can be accessed by going to https://owsrf.epa.gov/. 

(If you do not have an account to use the system, click the "Create An Account" hyperlink and 

follow the instructions. Once you have an account, log in and request access to CW NIMS.)

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How to Use the Online Data Entry System

to Submit CWSRF NIMS Data

The online data entry system is accessible via the Internet using Microsoft Internet Explorer version

8.0 or higher. Northbridge is providing contractor support for this effort and may be contacted to 

answer any questions that you have on your NIMS submission. (Contact Emily Horn at

781-343-4101 or ehorn@nbenvironmental.com)

If you do not have a copy of Microsoft Internet Explorer or are using a version earlier than version

8.0, you can download a free copy from Microsoft’s website located at: 

www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.asp

Log in to the Online Data Entry System

 To access the online data entry system, set your browser location to: 

https://owsrf.epa.gov/. If you do not have an account, click on Create an Account.

 Once you log in, select the CW NIMS application and select your state. If you do not see CW

NIMS on the dropdown list of applications, click Request Access to an Application and select

CW NIMS to request access.
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 If you have difficulty getting into the

site, check that cookies are set to a

medium-high or lower level of

security. (Click on Tools, Internet

Options, Privacy, change the setting,

and click OK.) Cookies are used to

securely identify you while you are

using this site. Once you log out or

close your browser, the cookies will

be destroyed.

 Note that the system will timeout after

30 minutes of inactivity for security

reasons. If you wish to resume work

after the site has timed-out, you will

need to log in again.

Entering the Data Entry Site

 Once you log in, you will enter the site through the Home tab.

 Click the NIMS Data tab to begin data entry. You will begin with a data set based on your

2014 NIMS data submission.

 The Home tab provides status information about whom and when data were last entered for

your state and whether that person indicated that data entry is complete. When data are ready for

EPA review, you will be able to track the status of the review and date of review completion.

Saving your data upon logout drives the status information shown.

Entering CWSRF Data

 Data are found in the NIMS Data tab

and arranged in two sublevels of tabs

shown across the top of the page.

 To navigate from page to page, click on

the top sublevel tab and then on the

secondary sublevel tab.

 You can also click Previous or Next at

the bottom of the page to move through

the pages in order.

 Within a page, point and click with the

mouse to select a cell for data entry.

 Once in a cell, you can use the tab key to move between cells or point and click with the mouse

to select another cell.

 To recalculate any totals on the page, hit the Enter key or click on the Calculate button. This

will take a few seconds as the page reloads.

 For the definition of any data item, click on the row name.

 Users with write permission can enter data for years 2014 and 2015. Users with read only

permission will be able to view but not alter any data. All users are able to run reports.
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Automatically Importing CWSRF Benefits Reporting (CBR) Data into NIMS

 You have the option of importing all loan and project activity from CBR for the current 

reporting year only (July through June). The Import will populate NIMS Lines 100-206, and 

will overwrite any project data that may have already been entered for those line items. 

 Clicking the Import button will perform a check on CBR for completeness of Population and 

Needs Category entries. If this data is complete, the Import will occur immediately. If the 

check finds incomplete Population or Needs Category entries, you will receive a message to 

that effect and the Import will not be performed. All other CBR entries must be checked 

manually for completeness. 

 It is strongly recommended that all CBR entries for the current reporting year be reviewed for 

completeness before an Import. Reports are available within both NIMS and CBR reporting 

systems: CBR Reports tab  CBR-Based NIMS Reports tab. The NIMS Summary report 

shows the aggregated CBR data that would populate NIMS Lines 100-206. The other available 

reports (Binding Commitments, Assistance Provided, Population Served, Assistance Provided by 

Type (Needs Categories), Construction Starts, and Initiation of Operations) show which loans 

would affect those NIMS line items.

 You will still have the ability to make further edits to NIMS Lines 100-206 after the CBR data is 

imported.

 Important Note: If there are any updates made to CBR data after an Import has occurred, you 

will need to re-import CBR data; changes to CBR will not automatically populate NIMS.

 

Viewing and Printing Reports

 View, print, or save a report of the data on the NIMS Reports tab. Reports are generated as

Adobe PDF files.

 For a report of all your data, select State Data Report.

 For a report to help you spot possible errors in your data entry, select State Issues Report.

Getting Help

 Help is available online by clicking Help at the top right side of the page.
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Ending/Saving Your Session

 When you want to end your data entry session,

click Logout at the top right side of the page.

 Choose whether to save or discard the data entries

you made during the session. If you choose to

save, you must also indicate if the data is

complete. If you choose to discard data entries

made during this session, any data entries made in

prior sessions will not be affected.

 By specifying that the data is complete, you are

indicating that all of the data for your state have

been entered and you believe the data are ready

for EPA review.

 Your data will be automatically reviewed by the web-based

entry system for any possible errors or inconsistencies. If

none are found, you will be notified that your data entry has

been accepted for EPA review. Otherwise, you will be

provided a link to the State Issues Report and asked to

review the possible errors so any needed corrections can be

made before resubmitting your data.

 If you believe that the possible errors are OK after

examining the State Issues Report, you can select an

available option indicating that you believe your data are

correct and ready for EPA review. A supporting

explanation for why you believe your data are correct

should be provided in the accompanying comment box.