The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition responded to the House Appropriations Committee release of its Fiscal Year 2027 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, expressing deep concern over the continued erosion of federal investments in water infrastructure while acknowledging continued bipartisan support for Great Lakes restoration programs.

For communities across Wisconsin, access to safe, clean, affordable drinking water is a persistent concern. Lead service lines, aging water infrastructure, and harmful contaminates like nitrates are among the many factors that necessitate extensive—and expensive—repairs to drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems throughout the state. Two federal-state partnerships—the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) are integral to provide financial support for these necessary updates.

Federal funding cuts have led to the termination of an AmeriCorps program in Ohio, halting six years of environmental restoration work with Tinker’s Creek Watershed Partners. The program’s wide-ranging work involved removing invasive species, expanding green infrastructure, monitoring water quality, increasing environmental resilience, educating the public, restoring habitats, maintaining trails, planting trees, managing greenhouses, and much more.