Sponsors (2)
The bill provides targeted federal funding, digital upgrades, cybersecurity support, and training to help rural and very small water systems modernize and improve reliability, but it increases federal spending and may leave under-resourced communities or private utilities behind while expanding the cyberattack surface if cybersecurity and ongoing operational capacity are not sustained.
Rural and small water systems (serving <3,300 people) will receive federal grants ($50M/year FY2027–2031) to modernize drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems, lowering local capital costs for upgrades.
Rural and small utilities will get funding to buy and install digital monitoring and control technologies, improving system reliability and faster detection/response to leaks, failures, and water-quality issues.
Water systems in rural areas will receive cybersecurity training and technical assistance to reduce cyber risks to control systems and SCADA, improving operational security.
Taxpayers will fund $50M/year from FY2027–2031 for these grants, increasing federal spending and creating potential budgetary tradeoffs.
Smaller and under-resourced communities may still lack staff, connectivity, or ongoing funding to effectively use and maintain advanced digital systems, risking underused investments and continued service gaps.
Deploying industrial control systems and AI expands the cyberattack surface; if cybersecurity uptake is uneven, some water systems could remain vulnerable to cyberattacks or outages.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates an EPA grant program to fund digital technologies, cybersecurity, and workforce training for rural public water systems and authorizes $50M/year for FY2027–FY2031.
Official title: To establish a rural area digital infrastructure technology grant program, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 20, 2026 by Rick Crawford · Last progress July 20, 2026
Provides federal grants through the Environmental Protection Agency to help rural public water systems adopt and maintain digital infrastructure technologies, strengthen cybersecurity, and support workforce training. The program prioritizes very small and community-controlled systems and funds design, construction, operation, maintenance, and software acquisition. Authorizes $50 million per year for FY2027–FY2031 (available until expended) and requires a Government Accountability Office study and final report on the impacts of digital technology adoption in rural water projects by the end of 2030 with recommendations for best practices and program improvements.