Whitehouse Cheers Unanimous Passage of Bipartisan Water Infrastructure Bill Out of EPW Committee

WRDA reauthorization strengthens RI's environmental resiliency while spurring new water infrastructure projects

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ranking Member and Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, are applauding the Committee's unanimous passage of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2026. The bipartisan legislation now heads to the Senate floor.

"Unanimously advancing this significant package demonstrates bipartisan commitment to maintaining and upgrading the nation's water infrastructure. The Ocean State stands to benefit much from this bill, which supports investments in safe drinking water and wastewater systems as well as flood risk management, ecosystem restoration, and navigation," said Ranking Member Whitehouse.

"WRDA 2026 is an incredible bipartisan achievement that will strengthen water resources infrastructure and increase access to clean and safe drinking water nationwide. I look forward to the impact this bill will have on my home state of West Virginia as it supports flood risk management efforts, restores ecosystems, strengthens cybersecurity for critical water systems, and provides vital funding for water infrastructure projects across our state. I am proud to see this legislation move forward with strong bipartisan support," said Chair Capito.

The WRDA is biennial legislation that authorizes flood risk management, navigation, and ecosystem restoration projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). Whitehouse included a number of measures to protect Rhode Island's natural ecosystems and secure greater Corps involvement in a slate of major water infrastructure projects.

Whitehouse worked to include provisions:

• Increasing the federal share of the cost of the Rhode Island Coastline Coastal Storm Risk Management Project to 90 percent.
• Increasing the federal share of the cost to remove pilings in the Providence River to 90 percent.
• Increasing the federal share of the cost to provide fish passage at dams on the Lower Blackstone River to 90 percent and allowing the Corps to adopt the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and The Nature Conservancy's plan.
• Authorizing Corps assistance to address invasive species like hydrilla in Rhode Island waters.
• Authorizing the Corps to provide assistance to address erosion compromising breachways.
• Authorizing a comprehensive flood and coastal storm risk management study for Providence and the surrounding areas that will examine potential measures to bolster the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier.
• Adding the Blackstone River to the list of priority areas under section 212 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1999, which provides a streamlined implementation process for coastal and riverine protection and restoration and a 90 percent federal cost share for design and construction of projects.
• Reauthorizing the National Estuaries Program, which supports the health of estuaries like Narragansett Bay.
• Authorizing an EPA Point-of-Use (POU) filtration pilot to distribute filters to homes with PFAS or other contaminants in their drinking water.
• Increasing authorizations for both the Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds.
• Reauthorizing provisions from the Whitehouse-Sullivan Save Our Seas Act that direct EPA to conduct research on microplastic pollution.

Congress first enacted the Water Resources Development Act in 1974 to establish and improve water-related programs and authorize the Army Corps to assist with flood protection, ecosystem restoration, and navigation to facilitate the flow of commerce in U.S. waterways. By law, the statute must be periodically renewed by Congress.

Full text of the bill is available here.