WASHINGTON — The passage of the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act earlier this month came in the nick of time for U.S. mayors as they battle to shore up aging water infrastructure.

According to panelists at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the bipartisan bill, signed into law by President Trump on Jan. 14, gives municipalities more flexibility to meet federal standards under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Act. It will help stabilize or reduce costs for low-and fixed-income residents in cities throughout the U.S., they said. Water and wastewater systems are paid for by ratepayers.