Cybersecurity Policy Report, House Bill Would Renew Grant Program for Water System Cybersecurity, (Aug 14, 2026)
An expiring grant program that helps small water systems improve their cyber defenses would be renewed under House legislation introduced yesterday.
The Water Technology and Resilience Reauthorization Act (H.R. 10083, 119th Cong. (2026)) was introduced by Reps. Gil Cisneros (D., Calif.) and Troy Carter (D., La.).
The bill would renew the Advanced Drinking Water Technologies Grant Program through 2031. Overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency, the grant program was added to the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which authorized $10 million annually for technology grants to water utilities serving fewer than 100,000 people, according to the Congressional Research Service. The program is due to expire on Sept. 30.
Reps. Cisneros and Carter noted in a news release that federal agencies warned last month that water utilities were under attack by hackers exploiting vulnerabilities in programmable logic controllers (PLCs). The attacks enabled hackers to alter water pressure controls and prompted some utilities to advise customers to boil water used for drinking and cooking (CPR, July 31).
“With the rise in cyberattacks on our water systems, protecting our critical infrastructure is more important than ever. I introduced the Water Technology and Resilience Reauthorization Act to renew a grant program that would give small water systems the resources they need to bolster their cybersecurity and protect clean drinking water across the country,” Rep. Cisneros said.
“Small and rural water systems often lack the resources to modernize their infrastructure to withstand today’s extreme weather events and malicious adversaries. Recent reports of cyberattacks on water infrastructure across multiple states make clear that this isn't a hypothetical risk; it's happening now,” Rep. Carter said.
“Our bill ensures these communities can continue accessing the grant funding they need to modernize aging systems and close critical security gaps,” he added. “Reauthorizing this program is essential to protecting the safety and reliability of drinking water for millions of Americans.”
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