Healthy Watersheds, Healthy Communities Act of 2026

Key Points

• The bill updates the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to help local communities manage water, prevent floods, and protect wildlife habitats. It broadens the types of organizations that can sponsor projects to include Tribal organizations, irrigation districts, and nonprofits.
• At least half of total annual funding must go toward "multibenefit" projects that deliver two or more public benefits, such as improving water quality, reducing flood risk, conserving water, enhancing fish passage, or supporting off-channel renewable energy.
• The bill requires the USDA to approve or deny project applications within 45 days (with a possible 45-day extension), and moves final decision-making authority to state-level conservationists to speed up the process.
• The maximum loan amount for local organizations is doubled from $5 million to $10 million, and funds from other federal agencies can count toward a local group's required cost share, making projects more affordable.
• Projects that improve natural features can now be approved even if their costs outweigh their traditional cost-benefit ratio, allowing environmental restoration work like stream and wetland recovery to move forward.
• The USDA must publish data on its website about watershed project expenditures, including spending on drought resilience, water quality, fish passage, and renewable energy production, increasing transparency.