Gov. Evers Delivers Radio Address Highlighting 2025-27 Bipartisan Budget Investments in Clean Water Infrastructure Statewide

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today delivered his weekly radio address highlighting efforts included in the 2025-27 Biennial Budget to invest in clean water infrastructure and ensure Wisconsinites have access to safe, clean water statewide.

Gov. Evers believes every Wisconsinite deserves access to clean, safe water—free of lead, PFAS, and other contaminants that have long been known to harm our kids, families, farmers, communities, and industries across our state.

To continue building upon the governor’s work to ensure Wisconsin’s kids and families have clean, safe drinking water, the 2025-27 Biennial Budget increases borrowing for the state’s Environmental Improvement Fund by $731.6 million to secure federal clean water and safe drinking water capitalization grants over the next four years. This will help meet the increasing demand from local communities who need support to upgrade local water systems and infrastructure to ensure every Wisconsin kid, family, and community has clean, safe drinking water.

In addition, this budget provides:

• $2 million for the development of a remedial action plan for the remediation of arsenic-contaminated sediment in the Kewaunee Marsh;
• $4 million to be used for remedial action at the Amcast Superfund site;
• $6 million in bonding to be used for the Kenosha Dunes restoration project;
• $7.5 million for contaminated sediment removal from sites in the Great Lakes or its tributaries that are on Wisconsin’s impaired waters list to continue protecting this resource;
• $4 million for Urban Nonpoint Source cost-sharing and the Municipal Flood Control Program;
• $6.5 million to counties for capital projects that implement land and water resource management plans under the Targeted Runoff Management Program;
• $7 million for grants to counties for implementation of land and water resource management plans, including cost-share grants to landowners that install conservation practices on their land, such as erosion prevention strategies, through the Soil and Water Resource Management Program;
• $4 million for the repair, reconstruction, and removal of dams;
• Over $1.8 million over the biennium to update the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ systems and improve customer service for Wisconsinites; and
• More than $12 million to support county conservation staff around the state.

Additionally, Gov. Evers, who began 2025 by declaring it the Year of the Kid in Wisconsin, has been clear from the beginning of this biennial budget process that his top priority in the 2025-27 Biennial Budget would be to pass a pro-kid budget that makes meaningful investments in Wisconsin’s kids at every stage and every age, from early childhood to K-12 to our higher education institutions, as well as ensuring kids and families have access to safe, clean drinking water. More information about the bipartisan pro-kid budget signed by Gov. Evers is available here.

Hey there, folks! Governor Evers here.

Every Wisconsinite deserves access to clean, safe water—free of lead, PFAS, and other contaminants that have long been known to harm our kids and families, farmers and industries, and communities across our state.

In 2019, I declared it the Year of Clean Drinking Water and created the PFAS action council, and over the last six years, we’ve worked to fight PFAS, help private well owners replace their contaminated wells, and replace lead service lines statewide.

Our bipartisan budget continues to build on this work to ensure our kids, families, and communities have clean, safe drinking water.

Our budget increases borrowing for the Environmental Improvement Fund by over $730 million to secure federal clean water and safe drinking water grants over the next four years.

We also know that Wisconsin’s farmers and producers know firsthand the value of clean water and soil and are critical partners in our state’s conservation efforts.

That’s why I worked to secure meaningful investments to support farmers and producers, including continuing support for the Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grant Program.

And we’re continuing support for the Nitrogen Optimization and Cover Crop Insurance Programs that help protect our soil and water resources while protecting farmers’ bottom lines.

We’re also working to help local municipalities and counties with challenges they face, from flood control, erosion prevention, and repairing and replacing dams to implementing land and water resource management plans.

Folks, our valuable water resources are core to who we are as a state, and they are absolutely critical to our health, our way of life, and the industries our economy depends on.

So, we’re going to keep working to ensure clean, safe water for every Wisconsinite and get contaminants out of our water and waterways for good.

Thank you.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.