Healthy H2O Act
The Healthy H2O Act would create a new grant program within the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to help rural households and certain small entities obtain, install, and maintain point-of-entry or point-of-use drinking water quality improvement products. The program—called the Healthy Drinking Water Affordability Assistance Program—targets communities in rural areas facing drinking water contamination, including those relying on private wells. Grants can be used for purchasing eligible water quality products, approved installations by qualified installers, ongoing maintenance, and related water quality testing. The act emphasizes interim, affordable improvements while longer-term infrastructure projects proceed and places emphasis on safety standards, third-party certification, and qualified personnel. It would provide funding of up to $10 million per year from 2025 through 2029 and require regulations within 120 days of enactment, annual reporting, and earnings-based eligibility limits to ensure affordability. Key design features include strict definitions for eligible products, installers, and end users; a focus on contaminants the products can address (including lead, arsenic, PFAS, nitrate/nitrite, hexavalent chromium, VOCs, and other standards-based pollutants); and a priority for households using private wells. The program would not be used to certify compliance with federal, state, or local drinking water standards, but rather to help affected end users access immediate safety improvements.
Key Points
- 1Establishes the Healthy Drinking Water Affordability Assistance Program (Healthy H2O Program) to fund purchase, installation, and maintenance of eligible water treatment products for eligible rural end users, with nonprofit organizations allowed to participate under specific uses.
- 2Defines eligible end users as rural residents (homeowners, renters, small multi-unit buildings, licensed child-care facilities, or other owned/leased facilities) who demonstrate a need through a water quality test or approved documentation showing health contaminants.
- 3Supports specific uses funded by grants: purchase of eligible products or replacement filter components; approved installation by qualified third-party installers; approved maintenance (including replacement of certified filter components) by qualified technicians; and related qualified water quality testing.
- 4Sets standards for eligible products and installations (certified filter components meeting specified NSF or other recognized standards; third-party certifiers; licensed or credentialed installers; adherence to local/state regulations).
- 5imposes income-based grant limits (no grant for households with combined income above 150% of the state’s nonmetropolitan median household income) and caps grants to reasonable costs for the described purposes.
- 6Requires the Secretary to administer and allocate grants, prioritize private-well sources, and ensure access to funds for eligible end users and nonprofits; mandates annual and ongoing reporting on barriers, technologies, testing, and program performance.
- 7Authorizes $10 million per year (fiscal years 2025–2029) to fund the program and directs the Secretary to issue regulations within 120 days of enactment.