Federal agencies could do more to help low-income and rural communities access federal funding for water infrastructure amid more frequent and intense storms, a government watchdog said Monday.
EPA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Agriculture Department together provided $35 billion in grants and $29 billion in direct loans for drinking water and wastewater projects between 2014 and 2023, the Government Accountability Office said in a new report. At the same time, all three agencies have identified and addressed some barriers that deter certain communities from participating in funding programs, such as cost-share requirements for local governments, per the report.
But in some instances, the federal agencies could do a better job of identifying who is benefiting from government assistance for water infrastructure to ensure it reaches the most vulnerable communities, the report said.
The watchdog conducted the study in response to the growing number of extreme weather events that threaten water and wastewater access. Hurricane Helene, for example, left some North Carolinians without clean tap water for over a month last year.
