Water Utility Cybersecurity Project Launches in Texas with Federal, State, and Private Sector Partners

Texas is the first U.S. state to participate in a new federal pilot program to bring free cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to under-resourced water systems.

The six-month pilot program, dubbed Project Watershed 250, will connect state water and wastewater utilities with a dozen U.S. cybersecurity companies to identify vulnerabilities and strengthen defenses at no cost to the utilities. In Texas, the state’s Cyber Command is overseeing implementation, supported by federal partners from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The pilot will test if the model can be expanded across the United States.

“The need for cyber resilience is overwhelming,” said Texas Governor Greg Abbott when introducing the program. “Many rural providers simply don’t have the resources they need to protect themselves.”

There are more than 1,100 water utilities in Texas, serving more than 24 million people. The largest serves 2.2 million people, but hundreds more serve fewer than 2,000 customers. These smaller utilities are especially vulnerable to cyberattacks because of aging infrastructure and a lack of appropriate resources to keep up with emerging threats.

Abbott and White House National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross announced the pilot program on 31 August. Abbott cited the recent wave of attacks on U.S. water systems as evidence of an ongoing threat, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

“China, Russia, Iran launch daily cyberattacks on our critical infrastructure, including water treatment facilities,” Abbott said. “Last month, over 30 municipal water utilities across 12 states were hit by an Iranian-backed cyberattack.”

Despite the timing, the White House said the new program has been in the works since 2025 and was not launched in response to the water utility cyberattacks in July, the Express-News noted.

“Project Watershed 250 is a commitment from the states, industry, and federal government that we will continue to prioritize our nation’s safety and deliver on America-first policies for the American people,” Cairncross said.

“U.S. companies are providing world-class cyber capabilities, red teaming that tests utilities’ current defenses, system hardening using the latest private sector cyber tools, and AI tooling [all] that helps utilities’ frontier cyber defenders to protect Texas water systems and scale proven solutions across the country,” he added. “This six-month pilot program is designed to make our water and wastewater critical infrastructure more resilient and resistant to cyberattacks by proactively finding and fixing system weaknesses.”

Many rural providers simply don’t have the resources they need to protect themselves.

Cairncross has called for a whole-of-nation approach to foreign and nation-state cyberattacks ever since he was confirmed in 2025. In his first public address since taking on the role, Cairncross said that the government needs to be more proactive and assertive in deterring and punishing attempts to target or infiltrate U.S. networks, and that increased involvement with the private sector would help.

CyberScoop’s reporting noted that the program has its skeptics, especially those who don’t see real resources and funding behind the program, pushing the cost of water security onto the private industry.