Congress funds cybersecurity help for small-town water systems
H.R. 2109 — Cybersecurity for Rural Water Systems Act · Filed by Donald Davis (D-NC) · 5 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 14, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill adds cybersecurity technical assistance to an existing USDA rural water and wastewater support program, requiring it to help small water systems (serving fewer than 10,000 people) assess cyber vulnerabilities and implement protections. It also increases the program's annual funding from $25 million to $32.5 million for fiscal years 2026–2030, with $7.5 million per year dedicated to cybersecurity work.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is to expand an existing USDA technical assistance program to include cybersecurity services for small rural water systems and increase its funding. It is a straightforward public-infrastructure protection measure with no private carve-outs or hidden riders.
What the text implies
- The $7.5M annual cybersecurity allocation is a subset of the $32.5M total, meaning the remaining $25M continues to fund non-cybersecurity circuit rider services; the bill does not specify how that $25M is distributed among other water/wastewater assistance categories.
- Rural water systems serving 10,000+ persons are explicitly excluded from the cybersecurity assistance mandate, creating a potential equity gap for mid-sized systems that may also lack cyber resources but fall outside the program's scope.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
Rural water and wastewater utilities (public entities); USDA circuit rider program contractors and technical assistance providers