Healthy H2O Act

This bill sets up a national grant program to help rural households, small businesses, and community sites like child-care facilities improve their drinking water right at the tap or where water enters the building. Grants can cover water tests, buying and installing filters or treatment systems, replacing filter cartridges, and required maintenance, using qualified installers and certified parts . The program aims to respond quickly to contamination, with rules issued within 120 days, and it prioritizes people who rely on private wells . Congress notes many common contaminants—like lead, arsenic, nitrates, PFAS, and germs such as E. coli—can be present in water, and that point-of-use or point-of-entry systems can provide timely protection while big infrastructure projects take years .

Nonprofits can use grants to offer water testing, explain results, help households choose the right fix, and coordinate installation. Grants are limited to reasonable costs, and households over 150% of their state’s median nonmetro income are not eligible. The Department of Agriculture will run the program, publish annual public reports on barriers, technologies, and trends, and funding is authorized at $10 million per year from fiscal years 2026 through 2030 .

• Who is helped: Rural homeowners and renters, small businesses, multi-unit buildings, and licensed child-care facilities; with a focus on private well users .
• What changes: Grants for testing, purchase, installation, filter replacements, and maintenance of certified systems; nonprofits can guide and coordinate services; income limits apply .
• When: Program rules within 120 days; annual public reports; funding available 2026–2030 .