The Healthy Watersheds, Healthy Communities Act of 2026 provides federal support for local watershed improvement projects and streamlines the process for accessing that support. The bill requires the Department of Agriculture to make funding decisions within 45 days, allows projects that provide multiple environmental benefits without traditional cost-benefit analysis, and makes it easier for local sponsors to meet their funding requirements by counting other federal agencies' contributions toward their cost-share obligations. The legislation also expands what the government tracks and publicly reports about watershed projects, adding new categories like drought resilience, fish habitat improvements, and water conservation to the data made available on the Department of Agriculture's website. These changes are designed to reduce bureaucratic delays and make federal watershed funding more accessible to communities working on water quality, habitat, and conservation projects.
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