H.R. 4721 — Healthy H2O Act

This section states congressional findings that (1) clean and safe drinking water is necessary for public health and a vibrant economy; (2) communities dependent on private groundwater or facing public drinking water infrastructure challenges are disproportionately impacted by water quality issues; (3) such communities are adversely affected by contaminants including lead, arsenic, nitrate, nitrite, volatile organic compounds, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and hexavalent chromium in local supplies; (4) public health organizations have identified pathogens such as giardia, enterovirus, radon, rotovirus, norovirus, shigella, campylobacter, salmonella, hepatitis A, cryptosporidium, and E. coli as major drinking water risks; (5) drinking water infrastructure investments are critical but often too slow to address immediate needs; (6) point-of-entry and point-of-use systems serve as viable interim (or longer-term in rural areas) solutions; and (7) grants under this Act provide financial assistance to eligible recipients under new section 306F(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to voluntarily improve drinking water quality for eligible end users, without demonstrating compliance with federal, state, or local drinking water standards.

This section establishes the Healthy Drinking Water Affordability Assistance Program under new section 306F of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (i.e., a USDA Rural Development program authorizing grants for rural water infrastructure). The program provides grants to eligible recipients—including rural homeowners, renters, owners of multi-unit residential buildings with 25 or fewer units, licensed child-care facilities, other owned/leased/rented facilities, and nonprofits—for approved installation and maintenance of eligible point-of-use or point-of-entry drinking water quality improvement products incorporating certified filter components that reduce health contaminants (e.g., lead, arsenic, nitrate/nitrite, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, hexavalent chromium, volatile organic compounds, or others subject to EPA primary drinking water regulations, maximum contaminant level goals, health advisories, or State regulation). Certified filter components and products must meet third-party standards such as NSF P231 or NSF/ANSI Standards 42, 44, 53, 55, 58, or 401 for health contaminant reduction, material safety, and performance; installation and maintenance must be performed by qualified third-party installers or service technicians complying with manufacturer instructions and local/State regulations. Eligibility requires a qualified water quality test or other documentation demonstrating health contaminants at the point of consumption. (Thus, the program supports affordable household-level treatment in rural areas where system-wide upgrades may not be feasible.)