42 U.S.C. § 300j–3d — Water supply cost savings

(a) Clearinghouse: The EPA, working with the Secretary of Agriculture, must (1) build a technology clearinghouse with information on how cost-effective innovative and alternative drinking water delivery systems are — including wells and well systems — and (2) share that information with the public, and with communities and nonprofits that are seeking federal funding for drinking water delivery systems serving 500 people or fewer. (b) Self-certification requirement: If a local government or nonprofit applies for federal grant or loan money — whether directly from the federal government or through a state — to build, replace, or fix up a drinking water delivery system serving 500 people or fewer, it must certify that it considered publicly owned individual wells, shared wells, or community wells as alternative water sources. (c) Report to Congress: No later than 3 years after December 16, 2016, the Comptroller General had to send Congress a report describing (1) how these innovative and alternative drinking water delivery systems are being used, (2) the range of cost savings communities get from using them, and (3) how communities are using the technical assistance programs the EPA and the Secretary of Agriculture run.