Significant progress continues to be made in protecting and restoring the Great Lakes, but much more needs to be done. The federal government plays a major role in this work by funding projects, administering programs, and enforcing rules. With a permanent presence in Washington, D.C., the Alliance for the Great Lakes advocates to federal decision makers to ensure the region’s voices are heard. We update and release our federal priorities each year.
Although increased federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allowed states and the federal government to address drinking and wastewater infrastructure backlogs, removal of lead water service lines, and the cleanup of toxic legacy pollution, we still have too many Great Lakers experiencing polluted water too often. Invasive species continue to threaten the lakes, nutrient runoff from agriculture causes toxic algae blooms, and plastic pollutes our shorelines and contaminates our drinking water.
In our 2025 federal policy priorities, we’ve identified opportunities for the 119th Congress and the Trump Administration to address these challenges in collaboration with states and local communities. Many of these priorities are familiar systemic problems that take time to resolve. But as we’ve shown through efforts like stopping invasive carp, working on a big challenge for a decade or more is often what it takes to finally get the right solution.
For the upcoming year, Congress and the Trump Administration must work together to pass an annual federal budget to provide states with sufficient federal resources to fix our ailing water infrastructure; enact a Farm Bill that will reduce the flow of nutrient pollution into the lakes; maintain progress on key federal projects intended to stop invasive species, including the Brandon Road Interbasin Project; and provide funding for, and reauthorize, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to continue support for on-the-ground restoration projects benefiting many communities throughout the Great Lakes region. Water pollution, and the resulting health and economic burdens, fall unequally on people in cities and towns across the Great Lakes. Federal decision makers should shape policy to ensure that all Great Lakers have access to safe, clean, and affordable water.
Read on for full details of our 2025 Great Lakes federal policy priorities, or download the fact sheet to learn more.
Ensure clean water protects the health of people and natural resources
Clean water is a basic need for all. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress late in 2021 was an important down payment to fix the nation’s failing and outdated water infrastructure. The funding jump-started efforts to replace dangerous lead pipes, fix leaky pipes, and stop sewage overflows from entering our lakes and people’s homes.
However, the funding is only a start and recent surveys indicate that water infrastructure needs have grown in the last several years. EPA’s 7th national Drinking Water Needs Information Survey and Assessment, completed in 2023, and the Clean Watershed Needs Survey completed in 2024, estimate that the Great Lakes region will need at least $290.3 billion over the next twenty years to fix our water infrastructure problems. This is an increase from the last national surveys and indicates that federal funding is not keeping up with needs. As a result, we need to keep the pressure on Congress to provide additional funds for water infrastructure programs and to strengthen them to ensure that money reaches communities with the highest needs. One of the most important ways the federal government provides this infrastructure funding to states and municipalities is through State Revolving Funds.
In addition, in 2024 the EPA released its first-ever Water Affordability Needs Assessment, which found that 12.1 to 19.2 million households lack access to affordable water service. This is a major public health risk that compels urgent federal action. One of the recommendations in the report is for Congress to pass legislation establishing a national water affordability program. We agree and plan to work with our partners and Congress to advocate for the establishment of a national water affordability program.
In 2025, we urge Congress to:
- Increase annual funding to at least $9.3 billion for the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds
- Set aside at least 20 percent of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund as grants for green infrastructure projects such as green roofs, permeable pavement, and additional green spaces
- Pass a federal ban on residential water shutoffs
- Establish a federal program to provide financial assistance for water and sewer bills
In 2025, we urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to:
- Require that states accepting federal funds increase funding and technical assistance for communities bearing the greatest burden of pollution so that they are equipped to apply for and receive funding through State Revolving Funds to replace toxic lead water pipes, repair malfunctioning sewers, and stop community flooding
Download the water infrastructure fact sheet.
Fund and reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) is one of the most important tools in the region’s toolbox to protect and restore the lakes. The program has provided funding with near-universal bipartisan and public support for on-the-ground restoration projects, from wetland restoration to cleaning up toxic hot spots. The GLRI also provides major economic benefits. For every dollar spent by the program, an additional three dollars of value is added to the regional economy. In 2024, EPA relied on up-to-date science and extensive input from across the Great Lakes to issue the five-year Action Plan IV for the program to address the most critical threats to the region. The GLRI is also supporting significant progress to address the removal of toxic legacy pollution at Areas of Concern, a number of highly degraded areas that require extensive remediation throughout the Great Lakes.
In 2025, we urge Congress to:
- Fund the GLRI with at least $475 million for FY 2026
- Reauthorize the GLRI program at $500 million per year for five years from FY 2027-2031
In 2025, we urge the Environmental Protection Agency to:
- Propose the authorized level of GLRI funding at $475 million for FY 2026
- Make progress on finishing cleanup of most Areas of Concern by 2030, and implement Action Plan IV to address community needs for Great Lakes restoration
Download the Great Lakes restoration fact sheet.
Pass a Farm Bill that prioritizes clean water
Agriculture is the largest unaddressed source of nonpoint pollution in the Great Lakes region. Nonpoint pollution is pollution that doesn’t come from a single identifiable source such as a pipe, but instead originates from many places over a wide area. This runoff from agricultural lands puts the Great Lakes at risk. It pollutes drinking water by causing toxic algal blooms, threatens wildlife, harms the tourism economy, and prevents people from enjoying recreation on the Great Lakes. Ultimately these problems demand that the agriculture industry demonstrate it can operate safely without fouling our water.
Every five years, Congress develops a “Farm Bill,” a major package of legislation that sets the agenda and funding for national farm and food policy. Congress passed one-year extensions of the Farm Bill in 2023 and 2024, so in 2025 Congress can pass a Farm Bill that ensures farms produce clean water, not pollution, along with their crops.
In 2025, we urge Congress to pass a Farm Bill that:
- Increases funding for U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation programs
- Includes provisions to ensure accountability for farm conservation programs aimed at stopping runoff pollution from agricultural lands
Download the agriculture fact sheet.
Pass legislation to stop plastic pollution
Researchers estimate that 22 million pounds of plastic pollution enter the Great Lakes each year. Plastic pollution isn’t just an unsightly problem in our waterways. It’s estimated that humans ingest a credit card-sized amount of plastic each week, with unknown long-term consequences for our health.
For many years, efforts to stop plastic pollution put the responsibility on individuals, such as recycling. But only a fraction of plastic produced each year is recycled, leaving the remainder to end up in landfills or as litter that lands in our waterways. The alternative is to require plastic producers to be responsible for their products through their lifecycle, which is called extended producer responsibility. Congress has an opportunity to be a leader on this issue.
In 2025, we urge Congress to pass legislation that:
- Makes plastic producers responsible for reduction of plastic waste
- Reduces the federal government’s use of single-use plastics including polystyrene foam
- Funds additional research on the public health impact of plastics
Download the plastic pollution fact sheet.
Protect the Great Lakes from aquatic invasive species
Invasive species have caused irreparable harm to the Great Lakes ecosystem and cost the region billions of dollars at least since the mid-20th century. Preventing them from ever entering is the best way to protect the Great Lakes. Invasive bighead and silver carp are still a major risk. Established populations of invasive carp are only 50 miles from Chicago and Lake Michigan. But it’s not too late to prevent them from reaching the lakes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is implementing additional carp prevention measures at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet, Illinois. The facility is fully authorized by Congress, supported by the Great Lakes states, and is a critical choke point in the waterways leading to Lake Michigan. Congress and federal agencies must continue to support this project, which has broken ground and is under construction.
In 2025, we urge Congress to:
- Provide federal funding to initiate the design and engineering phase for the second increment of construction (the first increment is underway) at the Brandon Road Interbasin Project, which is intended to stop invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes
In 2025, we urge the Army Corps of Engineers to:
- Continue implementing the first phase of construction at the Brandon Road Interbasin Project
- Initiate planning, design, and engineering for the second increment of construction so that it can be completed in time for the second increment to follow seamlessly when the first increment is complete
Download the invasive species fact sheet.