Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2025
This bill establishes a new Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund, primarily funded by an increase in the corporate tax rate (from 21% to 24.5%) and transfers tied to the expected revenue gain from that change. The fund is intended to provide adequate, long-term financing for water and sewer infrastructure across federal programs (notably the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and related revolving loan and grant programs). The act reallocates and expands funding for drinking water and wastewater projects, enhances affordability and equity considerations (including addressing disparities in access and disconnections), and increases support for households, communities, and specific populations (e.g., colonias, Indian health facilities, schools). It also introduces labor protections (project labor agreements) and creates a comprehensive EPA-led study on affordability, discrimination, civil rights, public participation in regionalization, and data collection. In addition to funding and programmatic changes, the bill makes targeted policy shifts—allowing greater use of revolving loan funds for certain settings (including privately owned systems under specified conditions), expanding lead service line and PFAS-related interventions, increasing capacity for household well systems and colonia programs, and boosting training and job-readiness efforts for water sector workers. A key feature is a one-year-to-prepare EPA report on affordability, discrimination, civil rights violations, and public participation in regionalization, with concrete recommendations.
Key Points
- 1Establishment of the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund, funded by a corporate tax rate increase (21% to 24.5%) and annual transfers tied to estimated revenue gains; transfer cap set at the larger of $35 billion or 1/20 of specified 20-year water/sewer needs.
- 2Allocation framework for the Trust Fund: specific percent fractions dedicated to clean water programs, Safe Drinking Water Act activities, household water well systems, colonias, Indian health services, and water operator training, with explicit percentages for capitalization grants, technical assistance, and related activities.
- 3Expanded use of State Revolving Loan Funds (SRF) under the Safe Drinking Water Act and Federal Water Pollution Control Act, including:
- 4- Allowing certain purchases of privately owned water systems and contract cancellations related to operation/management of public systems.
- 5- Small-system exceptions and minimum loan subsidy requirements.
- 6- Guidance to ensure affordable, equitable, transparent, and reliable water service, and protections against disconnections for unpaid charges.
- 7- Grants to publicly owned systems for lead service line replacement and other PFAS-related upgrades.
- 8Drinking water grant program upgrades, including:
- 9- School drinking water infrastructure funding to replace or upgrade lead-related infrastructure and improve monitoring; increased funding levels and extended timeframes.
- 10- Tribal drinking water program expansion.
- 11Labor provisions and project labor agreements:
- 12- Reaffirmation of prevailing wage requirements.
- 13- Requirement that SRF and drinking water grant recipients facilitate project labor agreements where feasible.
- 14Water Operator Jobs Training Grants:
- 15- Competitive grants to train workers in drinking water and wastewater sectors, with priority for low-income communities, communities of color, high-poverty/high-unemployment areas, unions, and worker organizations.
- 16- No mandatory match; performance reporting and potential program evaluations.
- 17Expanded drinking water assistance to colonias:
- 18- Broadened eligibility to border states and local governments serving eligible colonias.
- 19- Increased funding authorization for colonias-related efforts.
- 20Reporting and study:
- 21- EPA to conduct a nationwide study on water affordability, discrimination/civil rights, public participation in regionalization, and data collection; results due within one year with recommendations to utilities, federal agencies, and states.