Duckworth, Durbin Announce Over $22 Million for Cleaner Water in Chicago

Duckworth, Durbin Announce Over $22 Million for Cleaner Water in Chicago

New federal funding comes through Duckworth's efforts to get lead out of our drinking water and clean up water systems nationwide

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the City of Chicago's Department of Water Management will receive $22,119,933 in grant funding to help get lead out of the city's drinking water by supporting approximately 650 lead service line replacements in the Austin neighborhood. This comes after the Senators announced over $316 million for clean water funding in Illinois last month, including $295,551,000 for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to boost Illinois' Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and $21,335,000 through EPA's Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities grant program to help address PFAS and other emerging contaminants in Illinois communities. This funding is made possible through Duckworth's clean drinking water provisions in the historic 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which represent the largest federal investment in water infrastructure in history.

"Every American-no matter their zip code-deserves to have confidence that the drinking water in their homes and schools won't make them sick," Duckworth said. "With Chicago home to more known lead service lines than any other city in the country, this significant investment will go a long way to help the city get rid of lead pipes, clean up our drinking water and protect our children's health."

"Lead in our drinking water, at any level, is a threat to our public health, particularly to children. And the lead pipes in Chicago, the most in any city in the nation, have posed a health risk for far too long. With this major investment, we can continue the critical work of ensuring Chicagoans have access to clean water when they turn on the tap," Durbin said.

Illinois leads the nation in known lead service lines across the state. Today's over $295 million in federal support will help Illinois EPA remove and replace dangerous lead pipes, helping ensure families and children have access to safer, cleaner drinking water while protecting communities from the serious health risks associated with lead exposure. Communities can use these funds for identifying lead pipes as well as planning and funding removal projects.

The $22 million in PFAS funding will help address drinking water contamination in Chicago's Austin neighborhood, where more than 3,000 properties have already tested above the current lead action limit of 15 ppb. This funding comes on the heels of the Trump Administration's recent announcement that it would roll back key regulations that protect communities from PFAS contamination established under the Biden Administration as well as Trump's proposal to significantly cut all federal funding for the drinking water and clean water financing funds to the states.

As co-chair and co-founder of the U.S. Senate's first ever Environmental Justice Caucus, Duckworth has been a strong advocate for bringing environmental justice to Illinois and the entire country. Her Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act was signed into law as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, creating the largest federal investment in water infrastructure in history to help rebuild our nation's crumbling and dangerous water infrastructure, including $15 billion to replacement lead service lines and $5 billion for emerging contaminants like PFAS. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will expire at the end of 2026, but Duckworth is continuing to push for increased funding through the annual appropriations process and the Water Resources Development Act of 2026.

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