Fiscal Year 2027 budget considerations are well underway in Congress. For Georgia cities, funding reauthorization for several key water infrastructure programs face a September 30 expiration date, with less than 40 legislative days left before the November midterm election.
Last week, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee released its FY27 Budget Views and Estimates, signaling priorities for a long-term surface transportation bill and a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). While transportation efforts are advancing with the BUILD America 250 Act, the committee has not yet released draft water infrastructure legislation. The estimates highlight priorities for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) and U.S. Army Corps projects.
The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee and the House Energy & Commerce Committee also have jurisdiction over water program funding but have yet to release their water infrastructure proposals.
Reauthorization and Funding for Water Infrastructure Programs
The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allocated $50 billion over five years for water infrastructure through the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, including targeted funding for lead pipe replacement and PFAS contamination. That authorization expires September 30, 2026. The National League of Cities (NLC) and GMA are urging Congress to maintain current funding levels in the next water bill — $5.85 billion each for the Clean Water SRF and Drinking Water SRF — because the authorization ceiling determines how much can ultimately be appropriated.
The need is significant. EPA surveys project that wastewater, stormwater and drinking water systems will require more than $630 billion and $625 billion, respectively, over the next 20 years just to maintain compliance and keep pace with aging infrastructure.
Against that backdrop, the President's FY27 budget proposes cutting Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF funding by nearly 90 percent — from $2.7 billion to $305 million. The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program faces similar reductions. Combined with the expiration of IIJA funding, cities are staring at a potential fiscal cliff that would sharply limit their ability to deliver safe, reliable drinking water and wastewater services.
The Water Resources Development Act, traditionally passed on a bipartisan, biennial basis to authorize Army Corps projects related to flood control, navigation and ecosystem restoration, may become a vehicle for broader water infrastructure reauthorization. Both the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are developing legislation, though no text has been released.
Learn more about the water infrastructure programs Congress needs to advance from the National League of Cities.