Sponsors (87)
Introduced May 13, 2025 by Bonnie Watson Coleman · Last progress May 13, 2025
The bill directs substantially more and more-targeted federal resources to improve safe drinking water and wastewater services—especially for low-income, rural, tribal, and school communities—but does so with new spending mechanisms, administrative requirements, and legal ambiguities that create fiscal, privacy, and implementation risks for taxpayers, states, and local actors.
Low-income, rural, tribal, and state/local water systems will get substantially more and more predictable federal funding for drinking water and wastewater projects through a dedicated trust fund, new capitalization grants, and a permanent annual appropriation for household well programs.
Low-income households, rural residents, and communities of color will gain better protections and targeted investments (including policies to reduce shutoffs and data-driven targeting) that improve equitable access to water and sewer service.
Students, school children, and homeowners in small/rural systems will get reduced exposure to lead and PFAS through funding for lead service line replacement, home filtration, treatment upgrades, and school remediation and monitoring.
Taxpayers and businesses could face higher costs or new taxes and the federal budget could see larger outlays or deficits because the bill creates new funding mechanisms (including a corporate tax component), automatic trust fund availability, and recurring appropriations.
States, localities, schools, tribal recipients, and EPA face legal ambiguity and implementation delays because several sections contain corrupted or typographical numeric language that obscures exact funding levels and allocations.
States, local governments, utilities, and nonprofits will face increased administrative burdens, new reporting and procurement requirements (including PLA enforcement and expanded eligibility), and potential complexity managing many small recipients.
Based on analysis of 18 sections of legislative text.
Creates a tax-funded water trust that sends large annual transfers to water programs, expands SRF uses and grants for lead/PFAS remediation, mandates affordability study, and funds workforce training.
Creates a new federal Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund funded by a corporate tax change and directs large, ongoing transfers to water infrastructure programs; expands how State Revolving Funds (SRFs) and other federal water programs may be used for lead line replacement, PFAS response, household well remediation, and purchases of privately owned systems; requires an EPA nationwide study on affordability and discrimination; expands workforce training grants for water-sector jobs; and makes labor- and funding-related changes for SRF projects. The bill sets new allocation shares among EPA, USDA, Indian Health Service, and DOL, raises or makes mandatory several grant allocations (including tribal and school programs), increases funding for household well assistance, and imposes programmatic conditions and guidance to promote affordability, equity, and service reliability.