The National Rural Water Association (NRWA) and Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) have announced support for a bipartisan bill to provide small and rural water systems access to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Water and Environmental Programs (WEP). The Assistance for Rural Water Systems Act of 2025 aims to help rural communities complete critical water infrastructure repairs or improvements to ensure clean drinking water and wastewater treatment services.
The legislation would allow the USDA to provide low- and zero-interest loans, loan forgiveness, and loan refinancing to help rural communities repair, modernize, and renovate failing water infrastructure.
In 2024, the bill was included in the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act, the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee’s proposal for reauthorization of the Farm Bill.
The legislation is supported by the National Rural Water Association (NRWA) and the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP).
The Assistances for Rural Water Systems Act of 2025 also creates new tools that will allow USDA to restructure existing debt with current borrowers. If enacted, supporters say the legislation will further enhance economic vitality in rural communities and the long-term successes that USDA water and wastewater investments have produced in rural America.
AE2S will monitor the Assistance for Rural Water Systems Act of 2025 and report updates.