Protect Clean Water Act: Bipartisan House Bill Would Authorize $10 Billion Over Five Years for PFAS Cleanup Through State Revolving Funds

A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House would authorize $10 billion over five years for PFAS and other emerging-contaminant projects, sent to communities through the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. Rep. Laura Gillen (D-N.Y.) announced the Protect Clean Water Act, introduced with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), at a press conference with Long Island mayors and clean water advocates on October 22, 2026, according to her office.

What the bill would do

• $10 billion, five years, two funds. The money would be dedicated to PFAS and emerging-contaminant projects through the two State Revolving Funds, which states use to lend to and grant money to local water and wastewater systems, Gillen’s office said.
• Replacing money that ran out. The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided $5 billion for PFAS and other emerging contaminants in water systems, and that funding expired at the end of fiscal year 2026, according to the release.
• Who backs it. The bill is endorsed by the Clean Water Construction Coalition, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), the WateReuse Association and Citizens Campaign for the Environment, the release says.
• Authorized, not yet funded. An authorization sets how much Congress may spend. Money would still have to be appropriated, and the bill has only been introduced.

Why the price tag matters to ratepayers

The American Water Works Association estimates that drinking water treatment investments alone could cost $2.7 billion to $3.5 billion a year, Gillen’s office said. Without outside money, those costs show up in local water bills.

“Every family deserves access to clean, safe drinking water, regardless of where they live,” Fitzpatrick said in the release. Rockville Centre Mayor Francis Murray called the $10 billion proposal “an important step toward helping communities address emerging contaminants and make necessary investments to protect their water supplies.”

Dan Hartnett, interim CEO of AMWA, said public water systems “face billions of dollars in costs annually” for PFAS treatment and that more federal help “will be crucial to ensure they have the resources to comply with EPA regulations.”

Where the federal limits stand

The EPA’s 2024 drinking water rule set enforceable limits of 4.0 parts per trillion each for PFOA and PFOS. On May 18, 2026, the agency proposed keeping those two limits while letting eligible systems request two more years to comply, moving the deadline from 2029 to 2031, the EPA says. That proposal has not been finalized.

Why WaterVO™ follows this

Every dollar in this bill goes to treating water drawn from wells, rivers and lakes. Atmospheric water generation, which we call vapor optimizing (VO), starts from a different source: it filters incoming air and condenses drinking water from humidity instead. We believe VO is likely the best option for drinking water. It uses energy, but we think cleaner drinking water is worth it.

Sources

• Office of Rep. Laura Gillen, “Rep. Gillen Introduces Bipartisan Bill with Local Mayors and Advocates to Fund PFAS Cleanup and Reduce Water Utility Costs for Long Islanders,” October 22, 2026: gillen.house.gov
• U.S. EPA, “Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)” drinking water rule page (read Oct. 23, 2026): epa.gov

Photo: the west front of the U.S. Capitol, by the Architect of the Capitol via Wikimedia Commons (public domain); cropped, headline added in the featured image. Illustrative.

Keep learning

More from WaterVO News: PFAS map: 1,700+ U.S. water systems logged PFOA or PFOS at or above 4 ppt · PFAS limits of 4 parts per trillion: New York bill awaits Gov. Hochul’s signature

Go deeper with the water experts at Hydrology University: the PFAS guide.

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