Michigan Congress members team up on bill to boost access to clean water

Legislation introduced by Democratic US Reps. Debbie Dingell, Rashida Tlaib, and Shri Thanedar would establish a new permanent low-income water affordability program. 

MICHIGAN—A bill introduced last week in the US House of Representatives aims to boost nationwide access to safe and affordable drinking water, particularly for low-income families. 

US Reps. Debbie Dingell, Rashida Tlaib, and Shri Thanedar on Friday introduced the Half-Century Update for Water Access and Affordability Act—which they call the “H20 UP Act.”

If the legislation were to be passed and signed into law, it would appropriate about $20 billion in federal funding annually (for at least for the next 10 years) to establish a new, low-income drinking water assistance program within the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

Dingell and Tlaib said the program is designed to be a new, permanent staple of the federal government—providing financial assistance to boost drinking water access to low-income households, as well as technical help to help support local, community-based water systems.

“Safe, affordable water is a basic human right, but we know too many families struggle to cover the cost of their water bills,” Dingell said in a press release. “Americans across the country are living without running water and face the constant threat and fear of shutoffs. This legislation provides much-needed support to help meet those basic needs, address the widespread water affordability crisis, and ensure no family has to go without clean water in their home.”

In 2021, Dingell and Tlaib helped pass federal legislation to establish the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program, which has helped to keep American families’ water flowing during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since been credited for saving countless lives.

The federal funding to support that program, however, has since run dry. 

The H20 Up Act would amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to make that federal assistance a permanent fixture within the EPA. The bill also calls for $20 billion to be appropriated annually (at least for the next decade), with the goal of providing drinking water access for all families.

“We have a federal program for gas and electricity, but no permanent program for water,” Tlaib said in a statement. “Our families can’t live without access to water. Millions of our neighbors across the country have their water shut off simply because they cannot afford their rising bills.”

Thousands of Michigan families depend on water assistance, with thousands more still waiting for help as available federal support falls short of the need. In a statement, Dingell and Tlaib called on lawmakers to pass the legislation to “rapidly increase water assistance to households.”

“Safe, accessible, and affordable drinking water is essential to public health, and many water utilities cannot afford to maintain their infrastructure,” Tlaib said in a press release last week.

The legislation has been co-sponsored by 15 other US representatives from nine states, as well as Washington D.C., and has since garnered support from the Congressional Progressive Caucus and more than 40 other national and regional organizations—including Mothering Justice, the Alliance for the Great Lakes, and the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition. 

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