S. 3967

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

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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.
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