September 26, 2023

Duckworth Announces $139 Million For Cleaner Water In Illinois

New federal funding comes through new law Senator wrote to get lead out of our drinking water and clean up water systems nationwide

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will receive an additional $139,698,000 in grant funding to help get lead and other contaminants out of our state’s drinking water and to substantially boost the state’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), thanks to her Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act (DWWIA), which she authored and was included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Illinois leads the nation in known lead service lines and today’s federal support will help Illinois EPA remove and replace dangerous lead pipes. The investment will also help remove and prevent contaminants, including harmful forever chemicals known as PFAS, in Illinoisans’ drinking water, resulting in safer water for Illinois’s families as well as job creation and improved public health.

“This SRF funding, which was made possible by my Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will help improve the safety of our drinking water in Illinois,” said Duckworth. “I’m also pleased that because of my DWWIA bill, this funding will be grants to ensure these investments reach the most underserved communities. Every American—no matter their race, income or zip code—deserves to have confidence that the systems carrying and processing the water they use every day are safe, clean and reliable.”

Thanks to Duckworth’s DWIWIA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is increasing the investments available to rebuild the nation’s water infrastructure through a $6 billion boost authorized by Duckworth’s Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act, which constituted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s water infrastructure authorization. Duckworth’s bipartisan DWWIA authorizes this critical water infrastructure funding for states, which is further boosted by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s supplemental funding dedicated to replacing dangerous lead service lines to help provide safe drinking water for communities.

As co-founder of the U.S. Senate’s Environmental Justice Caucus, improving water infrastructure in Illinois and across the country has been one of Duckworth’s top priorities. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which included Senator Duckworth’s DWWIA, is the most significant federal investment in water infrastructure in history, including $15 billion to replace lead service lines across the nation. Duckworth’s DWWIA, which has a focus on disadvantaged communities, is helping rebuild our nation’s crumbling and dangerous water infrastructure and enabling communities to repair and modernize their failing wastewater systems, while creating jobs.

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