S. 1730, the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2025, authorizes approximately $35 billion annually in federal funding to upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure, with money directed to EPA clean water programs, safe drinking water initiatives, rural water services, and Indian tribal water projects. The bill expands eligibility for federal assistance to smaller water systems and requires states to dedicate at least half of grants to disadvantaged communities, while also funding efforts to remove lead service lines and address contamination from "forever chemicals" in treatment plants and private wells. It doubles federal matching requirements for tribal drinking water systems and mandates that all water infrastructure projects funded under the bill pay workers prevailing union-scale wages and comply with project labor agreements. The bill also requires the EPA to complete a one-year study examining water affordability rates, discrimination by water providers, service disconnections, and disparate impacts on vulnerable populations, with recommendations sent to Congress.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.