Duckworth, Durbin Announce Over $316 Million for Cleaner Water in Illinois

Duckworth, Durbin Announce Over $316 Million for Cleaner Water in Illinois

New federal funding comes through Duckworth's efforts to get lead out of our drinking water and clean up water systems nationwide

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will receive $295,551,000 in grant funding to help get lead out of our state's drinking water by substantially boosting the state's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) for this purpose. This funding is made possible through Duckworth's water provisions in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This follows a separate allotment of $21,335,000 in federal funding from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities grant program for local clean water initiatives that will help address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and emerging contaminants in Illinois communities, also made possible through Duckworth's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law water provisions.

"This funding, which was made possible by my Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed into law by President Biden, will help improve the safety of our drinking water in Illinois," Duckworth said. "I'm pleased to see this funding still coming to Illinois as EPA is recklessly reversing key restrictions against PFAS in our water supply and continually cutting EPA funding. This is not how you 'Make America Healthy Again'-it's how you make America much, much sicker. Every American-no matter their race, income or zip code-deserves to have confidence that their drinking water is safe, clean and reliable, and I won't stop working to ensure that for all Illinoisans and Americans."

"Toxic hazards like PFAS and lead in our drinking water are public health threats to Illinoisans, especially with the recent proposal from the Trump Administration to roll back drinking water limits for PFAS," said Durbin. "But thanks to Democratic efforts during the Biden Administration, this federal funding will help address forever chemicals and replace lead pipes to ensure clean drinking water and healthy communities."

Illinois leads the nation in known lead service lines and today's more than $295 million in federal support will help Illinois EPA remove and replace dangerous lead pipes. Communities can use these funds for identifying lead pipes, planning removal projects and funding replacement of lead service lines.

The $21 million in PFAS funding will support local drinking water systems and private well owners to help with testing, planning and infrastructure projects addressing PFAS and other emerging contaminants included on EPA's Contaminant Candidate Lists. This funding comes on the heels of the Trump Administration's announcement this week it would roll back key regulations against PFAS contamination in water that were established under the Biden Administration and Trump's proposal to zero out all federal funding for the drinking water and clean water financing funds to the states.

As co-chair and co-founder of the U.S. Senate's first ever Environmental Justice Caucus, Duckworth has been a strong advocate for bringing environmental justice to Illinois and the entire country. Her Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act was signed into law as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, creating the largest federal investment in water infrastructure in history to help rebuild our nation's crumbling and dangerous water infrastructure, including $15 billion to replace lead service lines and $5 billion for contaminants like PFAS. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will expire at the end of 2026, but Duckworth is continuing to push for increased funding through the Water Resources Development Act of 2026 member requests.

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