Water industry associations push back on proposed fiscal year 2026 cuts to U.S. EPA, particularly the drinking water and clean water state revolving fund programs.
Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds are facing a $2.46 billion reduction from 2025 figures in the White House’s 2026 fiscal year budget proposal.
In a May 2, 2025 letter to Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, President Donald Trump’s FY2026 budget proposal amounts to $4.2 billion in total funding reduction in 2026 compared to 2025 for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs would see the greatest reduction of all EPA cuts. This would amount to an overall budget of $305 million, which is $2.46 billion less than the 2025 budget. It is not clear how the $2.46 billion in cuts would be split between the clean water and drinking water revolving fund programs. The President’s letter claims this change will place the onus on states to fund their own infrastructure and shared additional reasoning as to why the reduction to SRFs is on the table.
Bob Crossen is the editorial director for the Endeavor Business Media Water Group, which publishes WaterWorld, Wastewater Digest and Stormwater Solutions. Crossen graduated from Illinois State University in Dec. 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in German and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. He worked for Campbell Publications, a weekly newspaper company in rural Illinois outside St. Louis for four years as a reporter and regional editor.
