Dear John,

Today, Senator Baldwin and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced the bipartisan Healthy Drinking Water Affordability Act, or The Healthy H2O Act, to provide grants for water testing and treatment technology directly to individuals and non-profits in rural communities. Currently, nearly 43 million households, primarily in rural communities, rely exclusively on groundwater delivered through private wells for their drinking water. Currently, these sources are not subject to the same oversight and testing for contamination of public water sources. Water quality improvement systems installed at the faucet or within a building can provide immediate and ongoing protection from known and emerging water contaminants, like PFAS, lead and nitrates. Senator Baldwin's legislation is also cosponsored by Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Angus King (I-ME).

“Regardless of where you live, every Wisconsinite deserves access to clean drinking water and an environment free of toxic chemicals. Across our state, many rural and smaller communities are struggling to identify, treat, and get rid of emerging chemicals that endanger our health, especially that of our children,” said Senator Baldwin. “I am excited to partner with my Republican colleague to introduce legislation that will cut costs and expand access to water testing and treatment for families in rural communities so that when they turn on the faucet, they can be confident our drinking water is safe.”

Senator Baldwin's bipartisan Healthy H2O Act would provide grants for water quality testing and the purchase and installation of point-of-use or point-of-entry water quality improvement systems that remove or significantly reduce contaminants from drinking water. Grants would be provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture directly to individuals and to non-profits in rural areas, specifically to those in communities with a population under 10,000, to help people test their water and install a water treatment product if needed. The Healthy H2O Act will continue to be necessary following the Biden Administration’s announcement yesterday that it will pursue the first-ever national drinking water standard for six different per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. While public water systems have access to federal infrastructure assistance through EPA’s Drinking and Clean Water State Revolving Funds, the Healthy H2O Act will provide solutions to those accessing water through private wells that are not subject to the same drinking water standards and do not have access to the EPA funding.

Across the United States and in Wisconsin, communities face threats to their drinking water from a number of contaminants, including lead, arsenic, nitrates, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), PFOA, PFOS, hexavalent chromium-6, and others. The Healthy H20 Act will provide grants for those living in rural communities to increase access to the many technologies for testing and water treatment at the point of use.