# 119-s-4971: Western Water Infrastructure Fairness Act

119-s-4971, Western Water Infrastructure Fairness Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ] (D-AZ); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4971
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4971
- Congress: 119
- Title: Western Water Infrastructure Fairness Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-07-14
- Sponsor: Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ] (D-AZ)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Water Resources Development
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**90 percent federal cost share** for qualifying western rural water projects. This bill would make projects under Section 595(e)(3) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 eligible for a 90% federal share when they benefit an "economically disadvantaged community" as defined in WRDA 2020 Section 160, while other projects keep existing cost-share rules. - Economically disadvantaged communities would get most project costs covered, lowering their local share to about 10% for qualifying projects. - Local governments and rural water sponsors would face smaller up-front local costs for eligible projects, making it easier to start or finish water infrastructure in those areas. - The change applies only to projects under Section 595(e)(3), so it targets western rural water efforts and uses the WRDA 2020 definition to determine eligibility.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ] (D-AZ), 2026-07-14T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- 90% federal share for rural water: benefit, low. If enacted, the federal government would pay 90% of the cost for eligible water projects. This would apply only to projects carried out under section 595(e)(3) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1999. It would apply when projects benefit an "economically disadvantaged community" as defined i…

## Related bills

- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act
- 119-s-1068: Putting Veterans First Act of 2025
- 119-s-2295: Child Care for Working Families Act

## Sources
- [119-s-4971 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4971)

## Related
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [119-s-1068: Putting Veterans First Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1068)
- [119-s-2295: Child Care for Working Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2295)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4971 (as of 2026-09-10).