Communities could receive $10 billion to remove PFAS and other emerging contaminants from drinking water and wastewater under a bipartisan House bill.
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are manufactured chemicals that persist in the environment and are commonly called “forever chemicals.” Exposure has been linked to health problems, including certain cancers, prompting concern about their presence in drinking water. Congress dedicated funding to address the contamination in 2021, three years before EPA established enforceable national drinking water limits for several PFAS.
Congress provided $10 billion in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to help communities address PFAS and other emerging contaminants, with funding spread over fiscal years 2022-26. Water utilities say additional federal assistance is needed to cover costly treatment upgrades without placing the full burden on ratepayers. The Protect Clean Water Act would authorize another $10 billion over five years.
Earlier funding has helped communities add treatment systems to existing water infrastructure and test technologies for removing contaminants. In Tustin, Calif., a $10 million grant helped finance a $29.5 million drinking water PFAS treatment system unveiled in 2025. In Georgia, Dalton Utilities received $3.6 million to test technologies for removing and destroying PFAS in wastewater, while Summerville received $4.5 million to install PFAS treatment technology and upgrade its drinking water plant.
Reps. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., introduced the legislation Oct. 22. It would authorize $2 billion annually for Fiscal Years 2027-31 through the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds. Congress would still have to pass the legislation and appropriate the money before the proposed funding could become available.
The earlier infrastructure package divided its emerging-contaminant funding among three programs. It provided $4 billion through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, $1 billion through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and $5 billion through grants for small or disadvantaged communities. Fiscal Year 2026 was the final year of that funding schedule, although previously awarded money may continue supporting projects.
The new bill would authorize $1 billion annually through the drinking water program. It would amend the Safe Drinking Water Act, replacing an earlier authorization of $100 million annually for Fiscal Years 2020-24. A separate provision would authorize another $1 billion annually for emerging-contaminant grants through the clean water program.
At least 25 percent of the proposed clean water funding would support qualifying disadvantaged communities or eligible entities operating treatment works serving fewer than 25,000 people. States would select grant recipients according to their established project priorities. That funding would remain available until spent.
The proposed assistance comes as drinking water utilities prepare to comply with federal PFAS limits adopted in 2024. That rule established initial monitoring deadlines in 2027 and required systems exceeding the limits to implement solutions by 2029. Those requirements create a timetable for identifying contamination, evaluating treatment options and completing infrastructure improvements.
EPA proposed changes in May that would allow qualifying systems to request two additional years, until 2031, to meet limits for PFOA and PFOS, two PFAS chemicals. The proposal would retain monitoring and reporting requirements for those chemicals. EPA’s current information describes the extension as proposed rather than final.
Additional time would give utilities longer to plan and construct improvements, but communities would still need to finance the work. Gillen and the bill’s supporters describe federal assistance as a way to address contamination while limiting increases in customers’ water bills. Wastewater utilities also identify the expense of advanced treatment and limited availability of affordable, scalable PFAS destruction technologies as financial challenges.
The range of treatment options creates different infrastructure needs for each community. EPA identifies granular-activated carbon, anion exchange, reverse osmosis and nanofiltration as established technologies for meeting federal drinking water PFAS limits. Utilities may also select other methods that achieve compliance, change water sources or close contaminated wells.
Those choices require utilities to evaluate local water conditions and determine which approach will work for their systems. For newer technologies, EPA recommends assessing removal performance, potential harmful byproducts and treatment residuals requiring disposal. Project planning therefore must account for what happens to the contaminants after they are removed from water.
Supporters of the legislation include the Clean Water Construction Coalition, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, National Association of Clean Water Agencies, WateReuse Association and Citizens Campaign for the Environment. The bill does not establish application deadlines or announce individual project awards. Specific procurement opportunities would depend on congressional funding decisions, state implementation and the projects selected for assistance.
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