Healthy H2O Act

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The Water Quality Association welcomes the bipartisan introduction of the Healthy Drinking Water Affordability Act into the 118th Congress by U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) and a week later in the House by U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and David Rouzer (R-NC). The identical versions of the bill, commonly known as the Healthy H2O Act, offer federal grants for water quality testing and certified treatment technology in rural and underserved communities, including residents who rely on private wells.

two little girls drinking water

The bill grew from an initiative developed by the WQA’s Clean Water for All task force, which aims to collaborate with policymakers to ensure all Americans have access to safe and healthy drinking water. It is cosponsored in the Senate by Sens. Tina Smith (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Angus King (I-ME) and in the House by Rep. David Valadao (R-CA).

WQA Executive Director Pauli Undesser, MWS, applauded the lawmakers for introducing the act, “which will increase access to water treatment technology for rural communities, an area overlooked in recent federal investments. Consulting qualified professionals and utilizing certified point-of-use and point-of-entry filtration systems can play a crucial role for those who rely on private wells and are uncertain about how to treat emerging health contaminants.”

The act would help these rural and underserved communities by authorizing a new U.S. Department of Agriculture grant program to cover the costs of water quality testing and the purchase, installation, and maintenance of POU/POE water filtration systems certified to address health-based contaminants found in their drinking water. Funding would go directly to individuals, licensed child-care facilities, and non-profits that are equipped to help people go through the process of testing and then finding and installing a water treatment product to address their situation.

An estimated 23 million U.S. households rely on private wells for their drinking water. Wells are not subject to the same oversight and testing as municipal water systems, which can delay the identification of potential health hazards in local groundwater.

More than 30 organizations have joined WQA in publicly supporting the bill, including the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, National Ground Water Association, The Water Council, NSF International, IAPMO, the American Supply Association, the Water Systems Council, the Water Well Trust, and the Groundwater Foundation.

U.S. SENATE

Introduced by:
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)

Co-sponsors:
Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN),
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Sen. Angus King (I-ME)

U.S. HOUSE

Introduced by:
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME)
Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC)

Co-sponsors:
Rep. David Valadao (R-CA)
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI)
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN)
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH)
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI)
Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY)
Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA)
Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA)
Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-IL)
Rep. John Rose (R-TN)
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM)
Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM)


Background

The Clean Water for All initiative was developed by a WQA task force, to empower Americans to significantly reduce or remove unwanted contaminants found in their drinking water. The task force chair, Josh Greene – A.O Smith, has been leading the charge in creating federal legislation to enable funding of eligible consumers to defray the cost to purchase and install certified point-of-use (POU) and point-of-entry (POE) water treatment systems in households that are reliant on well-water.

Language for the legislation was drafted with the office of Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

WQA Past President Toby Thomas explained the Clean Water for All initiative in a video conversation: