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[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), founding Co-Chair of the Senate’s first-ever Environmental Justice Caucus, successfully secured several key priorities that would expand access to clean, safe and reliable water for Illinois families in the bipartisan Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2026, which passed unanimously out ofthe U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW). This bill builds upon multiple legacy programs from Senator Duckworth’s Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act (DWWIA) of 2021, which was signed into law as a part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) that provided the single largest investment in American history to help repair and modernize our crumbling and dangerous water infrastructure. WRDA 2026 will now go onto the full Senate for consideration.
“This bipartisan bill reaffirms the Senate’s commitment to a simple principle: safe, reliable drinking water is not a luxury—it’s a necessity that everyone deserves, no matter their zip code,” Duckworth said. “My Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was the single largest federal investment in our water infrastructure in history, cleaning up our nation’s drinking water supply and replacing lead pipes that have poisoned our communities for too long. But our work to deliver clean water for all is not finished. There’s more work to be done, and I’m proud several key priorities that I fought for were included in this year’s legislation that passed the Environment and Public Works Committee. While I’m disappointed the funding levels fall short, I will continue pushing my colleagues across the aisle to join us in further strengthening job-creating investments in water infrastructure, especially replacing dangerous lead service lines and addressing emerging contaminants like PFAS. Our children’s health and safety are too important to shortchange.”
WRDA 2026 would reauthorize many of the critical funding programs under DWWIA, which will expire at the end of this year. These programs under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provide money to states and local governments for drinking water, wastewater, stormwater and other water infrastructure projects. The bill would also authorize critical projects under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for flood risk management and mitigation, navigation, ecosystem restoration, emergency management, recreation and interagency support services.
Additionally, the bill would reauthorize numerous EPA programs championed by Duckworth that provide critical financing and funding tools to states—including Illinois—to upgrade water infrastructure, including grant programs, the State Revolving Funds (SRFs), lead reduction, technical assistance, wastewater treatment and stormwater management programs. It would also authorize projects and funding for USACE secured by Senators Duckworth and Durbin to continue the operation and construction of critical inland waterways, locks and dams, restoration projects and storm mitigation efforts across Illinois.
While the bill would provide much-needed continued funding to address our nation’s aging water infrastructure, it would fall short of the significant funding levels included in DWWIA for lead service line replacement and remediation of emerging contaminants like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These pollutants pose serious health risks to communities and families across the country, making continued federal investment a top priority for Congress.
Key Duckworth priorities and Illinois provisions included in this year’s WRDA would:
- Reauthorize the Clean Water and Drinking Water SRFs. This bill would reauthorize and increase funding for these two financing tools. The SRFs are the most significant investment the federal government provides on an annual basis to the states and is the most critical water infrastructure financing tool at EPA.
- Codify the Lead Service Line Replacement & Emerging Contaminants State Revolving Fund Accounts. This bill would codify the two accounts created by DWWIA under the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to help finance infrastructure projects for the removal and treatment of lead and emerging contaminants, like PFAS.
- Reauthorize the Voluntary Schools and Child Care Facilities Lead Testing and Reduction Grant program. This bill would reauthorize this program, created by Duckworth to deliver funding and assistance to school and childcare facilities to test their drinking water for lead contamination and remediate it if detected, protecting our children from lead poisoning.
- Reauthorize the Reducing Lead in Drinking Water Grant program. This bill would reauthorize this program that allows EPA to provide grants directly to states or municipalities for projects that remove lead contamination from drinking water, including through the replacement of lead service lines.
- Reauthorize the Technical Assistance to Small Public Water Systems program. This bill would reauthorize this program that allows EPA to provide grants to non-profit organizations that provide critical technical assistance services to communities of fewer than 10,000 people.
- Reauthorize the Assistance for Small and Disadvantaged Communities program. This bill would reauthorize this program for small, disadvantaged or underserved public water systems that need additional financial assistance from EPA to provide their residents access to clean, safe and reliable water.
- Reauthorize the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants program. This bill would include reauthorization for this program that allows EPA to provide funding to states and municipalities for the planning, design or construction of sewer overflow or stormwater management projects.
- Reauthorize the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program. This bill would reauthorize WIFIA, which allows EPA to provide long-term, low- to no-interest loans to states and municipalities to cover up to 49 percent of a large water infrastructure projects or a bundle of multiple smaller projects.
- Reauthorize the Emergency Grant program. This program reauthorization allows EPA to provide emergency funding to public water systems to alleviate threats to public health.
- Require a Report on Project Partnership Agreements (PPAs). PPAs are a critical way in which non-federal partners can support the work of USACE and get projects done in their community. This provision would require the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate current regulations and identify ways that non-federal sponsor participation through PPAs can be more financially equitable for communities.
- Support Nonstructural Flood Mitigation Projects. This provision would instruct the National Nonstructural Committee at USACE to work with stakeholders to enhance the use of nonstructural projects, like home elevations or voluntary buyouts, in flooding management projects to reduce the devastating impacts caused by flooding.
- Increases Environmental Infrastructure Funding for Cook and Lake Counties. This bill would increase the project funding authority under Section 219 for Cook and Lake County from $149 million to $162 million.
- Create New Environmental Infrastructure Funding for Rock Island County. This bill would create a new Section 219 authority for Rock Island County for $5 million.
- Create New Environmental Infrastructure Funding for the City of Chicago. This bill would create a new Section 219 authority for the City of Chicago for $1 million.
- Create New Environmental Infrastructure Funding for the City of Mattoon. This bill would create a new Section 219 authority for the City of Mattoon for $5 million.
- Create New Environmental Infrastructure Funding for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. This bill would create a new Section 219 authority for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago for $5 million
- Transfer Land to America’s Central Port. This bill would provide the authority to transfer approximately 321 acres of USACE-owned land adjacent to America’s Central Port in Granite City to the Port.
- Allow Rend Lake Water Supply Contract Modification. This bill wouldallow the State of Illinois to modify a previous USACE contract for the storage of the public water supply in Rend Lake in order to save the state between $600,000 and $2 million every year.
- Exclude New Tolling, Lockage or Other Fees on the Inland Waterway System. Our inland waterway system is critical to Illinois’ economy and agricultural sector. New fees would have restricted the financial viability of using the river to transport grain and other goods, which is, by far, the most fuel-efficient way to move large quantities of goods and reduces congestion on Illinois’ highway system.
- Expedite Chief’s Report for Flood Risk Management on the Upper Des Plaines River. The bill would instruct USACE to expedite the creation of a chief’s report, the first step in critical USACE infrastructure projects, for flood risk management projects on the Upper Des Plaines River in Cook, DuPage and Lake Counties.
- Expedite Completion of the Ecosystem Restoration Project in Quincy Bay. The bill would instruct USACE to expedite the completion of this project which aims to reduce water volume loss from siltation by performing critical dredging and constructing sediment management infrastructure.
- Expedite Dredged Material Management Plan for Calumet Harbor. The bill would instruct USACE to prioritize the completion of this plan that will help inform discussions regarding dredged material waste from the harbor.
