FLOWS Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3967 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3967

   To establish a rural area digital infrastructure technology grant
                    program, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 3, 2026

Mr. Boozman (for himself and Mr. Kelly) introduced the following bill;
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and
                              Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

   To establish a rural area digital infrastructure technology grant
                    program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Futureproofing Local Operations for
Water Systems Act of 2026'' or the ``FLOWS Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. RURAL AREA DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Digital infrastructure technology.--The term ``digital
        infrastructure technology'' means information technology or
        operational technology that utilizes--
                    (A) remote sensing, flow or pressure monitoring,
                real-time monitoring, management, analytics, data, or
                acoustic data collection tools and technologies that
                may detect or reduce water loss, identify damaged or
                nonfunctioning infrastructure, or improve the
                efficiency of the operations and asset condition
                assessment of a public water system or treatment works;
                    (B) industrial control systems, including
                supervisory control and data acquisition technology;
                    (C) artificial or embedded intelligence, or other
                intelligent optimization tools; and
                    (D) hydraulic analysis, digital design software,
                and advanced digital design and construction management
                tools or software that may aid in the development of
                digital models and engineering plans.
            (3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) the owner or operator of a publicly owned
                public water system or treatment works that serves a
                rural area;
                    (B) a rural area; and
                    (C) a State or Tribe, on behalf of an entity
                described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
            (4) Program.--The term ``program'' means the grant program
        established under subsection (b)(1).
            (5) Public water system.--The term ``public water system''
        has the meaning given the term in section 1401 of the Safe
        Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f).
            (6) Rural area.--The term ``rural area'' has the meaning
        given the term in section 609(a) of the Public Utility
        Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 918c(a)).
            (7) Treatment works.--The term ``treatment works'' has the
        meaning given the term in section 212 of the Federal Water
        Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1292).
    (b) Grant Program.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Administrator shall establish a
        grant program to provide infrastructure assistance to eligible
        entities in accordance with this subsection.
            (2) Form of grants.--
                    (A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the
                Administrator may award a grant under the program to
                assist an eligible entity in--
                            (i) designing, constructing, operating, and
                        maintaining digital infrastructure technology
                        for water infrastructure, source water
                        protection, and water development projects in
                        rural areas, including for--
                                    (I) facilities that supply,
                                collect, and treat water, including
                                drinking water, wastewater, and
                                stormwater, including through
                                desalination and water reuse;
                                    (II) water distribution or
                                wastewater conveyance systems; and
                                    (III) the protection or development
                                of surface water or groundwater
                                resources, including through banking or
                                recharging of aquifers;
                            (ii) providing training and workforce
                        development activities to help project and
                        construction managers and owners and operators
                        of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater
                        utilities manage water infrastructure projects
                        using digital infrastructure technology; and
                            (iii) mitigating risks and employing
                        countermeasures to reduce the vulnerabilities
                        of digital infrastructure technology for water
                        infrastructure from cyber-attacks through on-
                        site cybersecurity training and technical
                        assistance.
                    (B) Acquisition and maintenance of software.--With
                respect to digital infrastructure technology that is
                software and notwithstanding any other provision of
                law, including the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C.
                300f), the recipient of a grant under the program may
                use grant funds for the initial acquisition and ongoing
                maintenance costs of that software.
            (3) Prioritization.--In selecting recipients of grants
        under the program, the Administrator shall give priority to
        eligible entities that--
                    (A) own or operate public water systems or
                treatment works that serve fewer than 3,300 people; and
                    (B) serve people or comprise people that, as
                determined by the Administrator, are most in need, such
                as--
                            (i) pre-fabricated home community
                        organizations or associations that are
                        controlled by a local public body; and
                            (ii) other organizations that--
                                    (I) own or operate a public water
                                system or treatment works; and
                                    (II) are owned or controlled by
                                members of the community served by the
                                public water system or treatment works,
                                as opposed to investor-owned.
            (4) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
        to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry out the
        program $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031,
        to remain available until expended.
    (c) Applicability of Other Federal and State Laws.--Nothing in this
Act waives, limits, or otherwise affects the applicability of any
provision of Federal or State law that would apply to a project to be
carried out with grants provided under the program.
    (d) Digital Transformation Study.--Not later than 5 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall conduct a study to determine the impact of adopting
digital infrastructure technology in water infrastructure projects in
rural areas, including--
            (1) identification of--
                    (A) water loss and inadequate fire flow capacity in
                public water systems that serve rural areas;
                    (B) potential bottlenecks in combined sewer systems
                that serve rural areas that could prevent an overflow
                in a wastewater infrastructure system caused by extreme
                precipitation or excess runoff; and
                    (C) models and simulations that are effective in
                assessing the challenges of water resource management
                in rural areas; and
            (2) recommendations for--
                    (A) developing water resource management plans to
                accommodate population growth in rural areas;
                    (B) prioritizing areas for improvement of the
                infrastructure and operations of public water systems
                and treatment works in rural areas;
                    (C) maximizing interoperability of digital
                infrastructure technology with other systems, products,
                tools, and applications;
                    (D) reducing project delays and cost overruns in
                projects that serve rural areas;
                    (E) reducing the total cost of drinking water and
                wastewater infrastructure projects in rural areas;
                    (F) understanding the impact of digital
                infrastructure technology in rural areas on
                sustainability and resiliency of a public water system
                or treatment works; and
                    (G) using digital infrastructure technology to
                increase the affordability of drinking water,
                wastewater, and stormwater services in rural areas.
    (e) Report.--Not later than December 31, 2030, the Comptroller
General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a
report describing--
            (1) the results of the study under subsection (d); and
            (2) the results of the program.
                                 <all>