As more San Joaquin Valley towns face wells going dry and other water crises, a new bipartisan legislative bill would make many more communities eligible for federal funds to build water infrastructure.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture‘s Emergency Community Water Assistance Grant provides money to fix small community water supplies affected by drought, flood, wildfire, or other disasters.

The Emergency Rural Water Response Act of 2025 from Reps. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, and Chuck Edwards, R-North Carolina, increases the population limit for towns affected by water emergencies to 35,000 from 10,000.

“In the San Joaquin Valley, water emergencies don’t wait for red tape,” Costa said in a statement. “Whether it’s drought, flooding, or wildfire, every day without clean water puts lives, farms,

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