Protect Wisconsin's Safe Drinking Water Funding
Protect Wisconsin's Safe Drinking Water Funding
The Issue
Wisconsin's drinking water is at risk — and the federal government is about to make it much harder to fix.
President Trump has proposed cutting the Environmental Protection Agency's budget by more than half for fiscal year 2027. For Wisconsin, that means the revolving loan funds that pay for drinking water and wastewater upgrades would drop from around $40.6 million to just $6.4 million — an 84 percent cut. These are the dollars that help cities and towns replace aging pipes, upgrade water treatment systems, and remove lead from the water flowing into Wisconsin homes.
Wisconsin has hundreds of thousands of lead service lines still in the ground. Lead exposure is dangerous at any level, especially for children. Replacing those pipes costs money that most communities — particularly small, rural towns — simply don't have on their own. The federal loan program helps by offering "principal forgiveness," which is the portion of a loan a community doesn't have to pay back. It's what makes these projects financially possible. Without it, communities face a hard choice: delay critical upgrades or raise water rates on the families who can least afford it.
Last year, Wisconsin set a record — topping $1 billion in funding requests for more than 200 water and wastewater projects across the state. Demand has never been higher, and the need is real. Even EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin acknowledged that Wisconsin is actively putting these funds to use, unlike some other states.
"States and local governments around the country use these funds to rapidly scale replacement of lead laterals, of which Wisconsin still has hundreds of thousands that pose risks to health," said U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin during a Senate hearing on May 14, 2026.
Attorneys representing Wisconsin wastewater utilities have called federal grant funding "vital" and "critical, particularly to smaller communities and disadvantaged communities, to be able to afford these projects."
We're calling on Wisconsin's congressional delegation and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to reject these cuts and protect the funding Wisconsin communities depend on to keep their water safe and affordable.
Sign this petition to tell Congress and the EPA: don't cut Wisconsin's drinking water funding.
105
The Issue
Wisconsin's drinking water is at risk — and the federal government is about to make it much harder to fix.
President Trump has proposed cutting the Environmental Protection Agency's budget by more than half for fiscal year 2027. For Wisconsin, that means the revolving loan funds that pay for drinking water and wastewater upgrades would drop from around $40.6 million to just $6.4 million — an 84 percent cut. These are the dollars that help cities and towns replace aging pipes, upgrade water treatment systems, and remove lead from the water flowing into Wisconsin homes.
Wisconsin has hundreds of thousands of lead service lines still in the ground. Lead exposure is dangerous at any level, especially for children. Replacing those pipes costs money that most communities — particularly small, rural towns — simply don't have on their own. The federal loan program helps by offering "principal forgiveness," which is the portion of a loan a community doesn't have to pay back. It's what makes these projects financially possible. Without it, communities face a hard choice: delay critical upgrades or raise water rates on the families who can least afford it.
Last year, Wisconsin set a record — topping $1 billion in funding requests for more than 200 water and wastewater projects across the state. Demand has never been higher, and the need is real. Even EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin acknowledged that Wisconsin is actively putting these funds to use, unlike some other states.
"States and local governments around the country use these funds to rapidly scale replacement of lead laterals, of which Wisconsin still has hundreds of thousands that pose risks to health," said U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin during a Senate hearing on May 14, 2026.
Attorneys representing Wisconsin wastewater utilities have called federal grant funding "vital" and "critical, particularly to smaller communities and disadvantaged communities, to be able to afford these projects."
We're calling on Wisconsin's congressional delegation and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to reject these cuts and protect the funding Wisconsin communities depend on to keep their water safe and affordable.
Sign this petition to tell Congress and the EPA: don't cut Wisconsin's drinking water funding.
105
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Petition created on May 15, 2026