Federal water funding boost for poor rural Western communities
S. 4971 — Western Water Infrastructure Fairness Act · Filed by Mark Kelly (D-AZ) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jul 14, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 to increase the federal government's cost-share for certain Western rural water infrastructure projects that serve economically disadvantaged communities, raising the federal share to 90 percent for those projects. The change applies only to projects benefiting economically disadvantaged communities as defined in the 2020 Water Resources Development Act.
Why we flagged it
The bill increases federal cost-sharing for water projects in economically disadvantaged Western rural communities, effectively subsidizing local infrastructure costs by raising the federal share from an unspecified baseline to 90 percent.
What the text implies
- The bill does not specify what the prior federal cost-share was for these projects, so the magnitude of the increase is unclear from the text alone—it depends on the baseline in Section 595(e)(3)(A) of the 1999 Act.
- The definition of 'economically disadvantaged community' is delegated to Section 160 of the 2020 Water Resources Development Act; the bill does not restate that definition, so eligibility turns on an external statute.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
rural water districts and municipalities in economically disadvantaged Western communities; construction and engineering firms contracted for water infrastructure projects